A Secret Revealed
by LolliliciousLolly
Summary: Four strange ghosts have visited Suze, but they don't want her help. But their presence isn't just a case of not moving on. Oh, no, it's a case that's put Suze's life in jeopardy as she tries to solve an ancient Egyptian mystery in time. [Kill me]
1. After the kiss

Disclaimer: Anything that you recognize from the books written by Meg Cabot belongs to her, and not me. I only own the characters I make up, but I do not own the idea, or the story. (Disclaimed enough?)  
  
A/N: This is my first fanfic ever. I'm not very old, so be kind... This story WILL get better; I'm just really tired right now. Thankyou, please review.  
  
What a magical kiss it was... I sighed as Jesse gripped me towards him. This kiss surpassed all others I'd had, including that damn Paul Slater's. I mean, Let's face it, no one's a better kisser than Jesse. No kiss had ever affected me in such a way, as though I felt I would die from the bliss of being in the arms of the one that I'd loved with all my heart, soul, and strength. My eyelashes were fluttering gently, as Jesse let go of me. It was disappointing, to be let go, as his embrace had given me the most loved, protected feeling in the world. He gasped, slid a strong by gentle hand down the side of my face, and dematerialized.  
  
I couldn't believe it! He always did that! Got me to 'fess up that I loved him, (or very close to it,) and then scarpered. Coward... But I was too ecstatic to care about his spinelessness. I stared at where Jesse's spectral form had been, moments ago, and fingered the air. Fog was collecting on my skin, and I was beginning to feel cold. I shivered, and wished that Jesse would come back, and make me feel... not so cold. But no go. This was one time he wasn't coming when I called.  
  
A question lingered in my mind... Yeah, so he'd admitted it wasn't his idea to move out... but... Did he love me?  
  
Did Jesse return my ardour? Or was I on a wild goose chase? My sunny horizon began to dim with doubt. Could that have been another spur of the moment thing? Oh, God...  
  
~*~  
  
'Jesse, I need you,' I thought intensely. Well, technically, I didn't need him, but I really wanted to see him. See those gorgeous dark eyes that cleansed my soul, soothed my mind, pacified my emotions... Those gorgeous, hypnotic eyes... And don't get me started on his body. I mean, wow. You've never seen anything like it. All those muscles rippling along his back, across his broad, robust chest, and down his arms... Well, that's all I've seen of him. Unfortunately.  
  
I was sitting on my bed. Spike was all hypo. He hissed at me, and clawed at my desk.  
  
'Spike, stop it!' I snapped. 'You're going to wreck my whole room! Last week, you demolished the curtains, and now, you're at my furniture! You stupid cat. I miss Jesse too, but I'm not defacing perfectly good property, am I?'  
  
Spike stared for a moment.  
  
Then continued to claw the desk.  
  
I groaned, and lay back on my bed. Why did Jesse have to move to the rectory? Well, yeah, I know why, but... why? It's not like anything steamy is going to happen around here. That's laughable! Jesse wouldn't dream of it. But I would... and have been. Dreaming of it, I mean. And don't even ask what 'it' is, you know...  
  
There was suddenly a shimmer.  
  
'Jesse, it's about time you showed your ghostly butt here...' I trailed off... 'Who the hell are you?' Oh, Geez, my politeness is to be applauded.  
  
The ghost in front of me was a girl, of about... I dunno, eighteen? Dammit, she was beautiful. At first, I was forcefully reminded of Maria De Silva Diego, but then I realized that this girl wasn't that ice bitch, and couldn't be, as her clothes were more modern... but not by much. She had a pretty dress on, nothing quite as fancy as Maria's, but still rather elaborate, with a sensibly high frilly bodice, a high waist, and a skirt that swayed gently by her long legs. Her hair was curly black, another reason why I thought it was Maria, but this girl's was much longer, and wavier rather than in ringlets. Her eyes... They were so blue! Almost as blue as Father Dom's! They looked forlornly at me. Such desperation made me want to cry. Which is saying something. I do not shed tears easily, unless, usually, Jesse is involved.  
  
'Susannah Simon? The Mediator?' she asked timidly, with a low, womanly voice. I guess she was older than she looked.  
  
'Um, yeah, I... I guess,' I answered. Wow, I'm so professional, hey? 'Oh, thank God. I need your help so badly. You're the only other Mediator I know of in the area. I've already tried Paul Slater...'  
  
My ears perked up. 'You went to Paul?' I gagged. She nodded ruefully.  
  
'Yes. He didn't take to kindly to me. He tried to exorcise me on the spot. It's already happened once.'  
  
'What? Paul's already exorcised you?'  
  
'No, not Paul.'  
  
'Well, if you've been exorcised, how can you come back?' I asked with amazement.  
  
'I said tried, Susannah. My name is Bessie. I am a ghost.'  
  
'No kidding...' I said, eyeing her ethereal glow.  
  
Okay, I don't know why I was being so rude. I mean, I was gawking like crazy at the poor girl, making her feel really nervous.  
  
'Listen, I already told you, I need you to tell him something... Tell him, despite the letter, I was not having an affair! I loved him!' she practically shouted.  
  
The words 'who's "him,"' barely escaped my mouth when she dematerialized. God, I HATE those cryptic mediating messages that ghosts give you. They just expect you to know who everyone is. Okay, process of elimination. My clues? "He"... Okay, that cut of... oh, just half the world's population. Helpful.  
  
'Um, hey, Beth, was it? No, Bessie? I need to know who you mean, or I can't exactly do anything,' I called to the roof. Somewhere in the astral plane, she had to hear me, right?  
  
Wrong.  
  
But someone else did.  
  
~*~  
  
'Well, well, well...We meet again, Suze,' said that all too familiar voice, the one that made my skin tingle with a deadly combination of fear, hatred, and yearning. I spun around wildly.  
  
Paul.  
  
This was the same guy who had left me for dead in purgatory, had helped to try and exorcise my Jesse, who had sexually harassed me, and had tried to kill Jesse last time I saw him. Stuff like that doesn't make one warm for another, if you know what I mean. And judging by what Paul's grandpappy had told me, I was looking into the eyes of the devil. Those icy blue eyes leered at me. His evil face was topped with a head of neat curly brown hair. Suze, stop with the virtues! He's dangerous!  
  
'Paul?' I choked, 'What are you doing here?' I asked. I mean, "We meet again, Suze?" that was a little formal, don't you think? This guy had issues.  
  
A grin played across those lips that had kissed me once before with such passion... I was pulled back into that oddly nice memory of what had happened in his bedroom... right up to where I'd run away, only to have my escape delayed by a three hundred-pound bikie. The memory didn't seem that nice then.  
  
'Paul, get out of my bedroom,' I said blandly. 'I'll call Jesse, and judging by his hospitality his showed you last time, I don't think he'll die of pleasure at seeing you.' Or so to speak. Jesse couldn't die again. I glanced over at Spike, who looked as if he was going to launch himself at Paul any minute now. I say, "Go, Spike, go!"  
  
'Oh, I just wanted to tell you,' said Paul smilingly, holding up his hands in a "down, girl," position. 'You really need to give up the charity cases. You can do so much more than that. Ignore the ghosts for once Suze, God. Oh and my little shifter lessons with you are starting tomorrow. I'll pick you up from school,' he said.  
  
I opened my mouth to object blatantly, but he grinned, and went, 'hey, my lessons, my conditions, or our little deal is up, Suze.' He came right up to me, sitting on the bed. My neck was straining to look up at him.  
  
I stood up, and moved from my bed, you know? Over to the window seat, which looked much more appealing, as I had the wrathful, hissing Spike for protection. Lucky me. Unfortunately, he followed; slowly and menacingly. His dark curls caught the dusk light, and his face flashed with an evil grin.  
  
'Get out, Paul,' I spat.  
  
That trademark smirk widened horribly. 'I'm going.' With that, quick as a flash, he swooped down, grabbed my face my both sides, and attempted to practically smash my mouth against his, but I kneed him in the stomach. He didn't seem to notice, however. He must have built up immunity or something down there, damn him. I mean, it happens so often, you can understand...  
  
So, as he did what he thought was kissing, (nothing was kissing, not after Jesse had blown my mind with his kiss... everything was just swept off the board after that,) I was thinking, "Jesse, Paulie's here. I'm so glad you haven't decided to show up. I mean, I know you're scared of him, but..."  
  
Jesse must have been mad. Because, I had barely thought this, and he was there, his lip curling, and his eyes blazing. 'If you think that I'm scared of that sniveling, back-stabbing mongrel, you-' He realized that Paul was kissing me. I was flailing my arms, to show that I wasn't liking this at all, and so Jesse grabbed Paul's shoulder, and hauled him back. Of course, I went with him. I was smashed against Paul roughly.  
  
'Um, OW!' I snapped, but I didn't have much longer to talk to Jesse. As I saw and knew exactly what Paul was doing.  
  
Closing his eyes, and visualizing...  
  
~*~  
  
'Hey!' I yelled, as I reappeared in the hallway corridor, lined with those endless doors. Ever moving fog breezed on slowly and steadily, thick and colourless. Everything else was black. Tendrils of smoke were swirling around my legs, wrapping them in ice cold blankets. I mean, come on, I was wearing my really short jeans, you'd be cold too. I saw his dark face shadowed horribly.  
  
'Paul, was this necessary?!' I asked madly, my hands on my hips. 'I really don't appreciate being dragged into hell, even if you do, and to mention, the headaches you get afterward? Post-shifting? Yeah, not my cuppa tea-'  
  
'Suze, you won't be backing out of this deal, will you,' he asked, glowering. How can someone still look so hot even when they are furious? Damn him!  
  
'What do you care?' I queried suspiciously. 'Because, if you hurt Jesse, I'll just kill you-'  
  
'Ah, and you said that you weren't going to let him kill me because you didn't want a murder on your hands,' he said dreamily. 'You can't kill me, Suze. I'm much to powerful for you.'  
  
Geez, with a head that big, I am flabbergasted he can make it through a doorway.  
  
'Yes, these lessons, okay,' I said, shaking my head. Because, of course, I was dying to find out about shifting. I had been dying to all my life, and a little thing like learning at his house wasn't going to stop me. I told him so. 'But Geez,' I wheezed, did you have to bring me here? Jesse wouldn't have-'  
  
I suddenly remembered why Jesse had shown up.  
  
'And no more kissing!' I yelled furiously.  
  
He laughed. 'I was wondering when you were going to bring that up,' he said. I narrowed my eyes.  
  
'Paul, get it through that thick skull. I do not like you in the tiniest measure. Don't even try anything, because I never will. Now, you are already so in my bad books, so lay off!' Accompanying this command was a shove in his chest. He stumbled back, and fell into the mist. Not waiting, I shifted back to my room.  
  
Once there, I woke up with an overwhelming headache. I opened my eyes, and Jesse's face swam into view.  
  
'Querida, can you hear me?'  
  
'Jesse, yes... Oh, Jesus!' I groaned, as my head pounded in full swing. I hate shifting.  
  
I saw Paul's motionless body lying on the floor. It would be moments till he returned.  
  
'Help me, will you?' I asked. Jesse assisted me in lifting up Paul, and positioning him carefully on the window ledge outside. I closed the window, and locked it. Jesse and I sat and waited...  
  
With a start, Paul woke up too, and was horrified to find himself on a window ledge. He looked back inside, and banged irately on the glass, but I giggled and smiled, wiggling my fingers at him. With a roar, he fell, and landed but first in the rose bushes that Andy had planted just recently. There was a howl of pain. Jesse and I roared with laughter.  
  
'Excellent, querida,' he commented, his eyes twinkling. I blushed. We stood there staring at each other, when he remembered that he was avoiding me.  
  
'Goodbye, Father Dominic needs me,' he said quickly.  
  
'No, wait!' I called, but he'd gone... 


	2. Daddy drops in

That's right. He had the nerve to just disappear on me like that! I should put like, a ghostly homing device on him. But it's not like there is one, so I'm stuffed.  
  
Oh, ab fab. Paul had been successful in his wish to get me to take those lessons with him. What scared me the most was that he'd fill my head with crappy lies about shifting and in a time of need, they wouldn't work. I wouldn't put it past him.  
  
'Ah!' I yelled, as my hand was scratched viciously. 'Spike!'  
  
The scruffy fat thing hissed at me, and flicked his tail indignantly, before jumping onto the floor. Yeah, that thing how cats always land on their feet? Not happening with Spike. Oh, he had too much blubber pulling his stomach down for that to be possible. I snorted as I heard the squelching thud of feline on wood.  
  
Serves him right for clawing my desk.  
  
I glanced around. My window seat was empty, and looked very lonely. I wished that Jesse would come here, I needed to talk to him. I mean, seriously, what dude kisses a girl, and then doesn't do anything? Forgetting that the kiss was in a graveyard, and that the kisser is. oh, gee. dead? Yeah, a bit of a bummer. But exactly! Jesse was supposed to be a gentleman! He couldn't have done something so cruel as to twist my heart like that. I mean, that wasn't very gentlemanly. that was. badassly!  
  
I suck, I really do.  
  
Why does my life suck so? I mean, seriously, I didn't ask to be a mediator, a liaison between the living and the undead. So why did I have extra- complicated things added to my already complicated life? Not fair, if you ask me.  
  
But then, no one ever asked me about the mediator thing.  
  
I was jerked from my thoughts by the hand on my shoulder.  
  
~*~  
  
My heart clenched in shock. Not Paul.Please don't let it be Paul.  
  
'Hello, sweetie,' smiled a familiar face. It was a kind, middle-aged face. And they were my eyes.  
  
'Dad,' I snapped, 'Don't- don't do that!' He chuckled, his small beer gut juggling slightly.  
  
'I do my best, honey,' he grinned, and squeezed my cheek, like he used to do when I was little. In spite of myself, I smiled.  
  
'What do you want?' I asked.  
  
He looked annoyed. 'Jesus, can't I come and say hello? Or do I need written permission?'  
  
'Not a bad idea,' I said through gritted teeth. I was still a bit jumpy.  
  
Again, he laughed, and gave me a hug. 'I've missed you, Susie,' he said, messing my hair. That peeved me.  
  
'Do you have any idea how long it takes me to do this every morning?' I asked acidly, smoothing my horrible pony down. I know, I hate ponies too, but hey, I can't wear my hair down all the time. Might get lice, hey? Whatever.  
  
This sent him into fresh mirth. Okay, now I was narked. 'Dad, stop laughing. I have stuff to do.' That was when he suddenly looked serious.  
  
'Susie,' he began, but I was all, 'Don't you call me that!' He, however ignored me.  
  
'Listen, Suze, I have been hearing things about what's been happening to you lately. First you got yourself exorcised that time, which was completely stupid of you. You could have died! Then, you go and get yourself kissed by. we're not sure what he is yet, but we are looking into it-'  
  
'We? Are you talking about Jesse?' I asked, baffled. I guess if was from my father that I had inherited my babbling trait.  
  
'No, I'm talking about that other mediator, Paul,' he said grimly, staring at me levelly, with emerald eyes, 'And then, you go back to that Shadowland! You shouldn't be using your powers for things like that. It isn't right-'  
  
'How do I know what'd right?' I asked brusquely. 'You aren't a very reliable source of information, are you?'  
  
He looked at me steely. 'Suze, you be a good girl. If I hear that boy coming near you,' he made a rapid slash with his index finger across his neck, and grimaced savagely. 'If he lays another hand on you-'  
  
'Would you relax?' I asked. Spike had wandered back over, eyeing my father warily. My father bent to pat the cat, but Spike swiped up at his hand brutally.  
  
Annoyed, I kicked him to the other side of the room. Flying felines, hell yeah. It was kind of weird, hearing a strangled, squashed kind of meow as he soared at the wall, but my ears will get over it.  
  
'Suze, that is a creature of God, don't kick it,' scolded Dad.  
  
'Since when did you believe in God?' I yawned boredly, picking up a copy of Dolly, and flicking through. Mmm, six signs of flirting? Intriguing.  
  
'So, I'm going to be watching you.'  
  
"He stares at you a lot." Well, I guess Jesse did that, seeing that I was the only one who could catch him at it.  
  
'.very closely. You've given us all.'  
  
"His voice gets softer whenever you two talk." Does it? I've never noticed. I'll see.  
  
'A great big scare, getting your feet burnt like that.'  
  
"He sometimes stares straight into your eyes". That was definite. Well, maybe, only that was before the kiss. Now, he'd be all like, "oh, Father Dom needs me," and dematerialize, and all.  
  
'.Susie, I'm serious. We are all really.'  
  
"You hung up on him. He called you back". Considering he can't really use the telephone, this one was unlikely.  
  
'.really worried about you. And another thing.'  
  
"He remembers little things you mention in casual conversation". I guess, but that was just annoying, not flirting. Great.  
  
'.That Jesse boy is really starting to bother me. I saw you to.'  
  
"He tries every possible way to touch you". Well, I wouldn't say Jesse was exactly outgoing here, but when he wanted something, he wasn't afraid to go all touchy-feely. Does that count?  
  
'.kissing in the graveyard!'  
  
Okay, now that caught my attention. Deny it! 'You saw that?!' I gasped, being way hypocritical of my resolution to deny it. This was basically admitting it. Damn, I'm so screwed.  
  
'It's not healthy, honey. He's a ghost. You shouldn't-'  
  
'SUZE!' yelled a voice, 'Suze, I need to show you something!'  
  
~*~ 


	3. The Photograph and the Shadowland

My little stepbrother, a geek to the core, pushed open my door, without knocking even. I glanced at him quickly with a "I've been caught in the act" expression. His eyes widened. 'Sorry, were you, um. busy?' he asked nervously, shuffling, his ears going pink.  
  
'What? Oh, nah,' I waved my hand, looking nastily at my Dad. David, a.k.a. Doc, will never know how much I owe him. He had just saved me from the protective lecture of my father, who, annoyed, dematerialized, with promises that I hadn't heard the last of him.  
  
Doc ran a thin, white hand through his odd, spiky red hair. 'Ah, Suze, I've been really bothered, you know. I found this in a book I was reading, one I got from Father Dom's library at school, and-'  
  
'What are you on about?' I interrupted.  
  
'Oh, um. well, I know this person, but I can't think.' Words not helping anymore, he shoved a photograph glued onto cardboard at me.  
  
I stared.  
  
It was fairly old, I mean, black and white. It was a picture of a really good-looking guy of about eighteen, with really light blue eyes. He was sitting in an armchair in what looked like an olden day living room, smiling into the camera-  
  
-But I had more concern for the girl who was next to him. I recognized those black waves, those  
  
It was Bessie, the ghost who'd just visited me.  
  
'Whoa,' I said, forgetting Doc was there.  
  
'You recognize him?' he asked excitedly, 'Who is it, Suze?'  
  
Oops.  
  
'Sorry, Doc. I mean, David-' he blushed at my moniker, '-I was just surprised at how old this was.'  
  
'Why?' he asked curiously. 'How can you tell?'  
  
'It's black and white,' I answered.  
  
He rolled his eyes, and looked at me knowingly. 'Well, of course it is. Old, I mean. Judging from the furniture in there,' he explained, sounding a lot like one of my teachers, 'You know, the sewing machine, and the style of the lounge, I'd say it was about 1960s?'  
  
'You'd know,' I said.  
  
He grinned with embarrassment. 'Well, it's obv-'  
  
'Doc, can I keep this?' I asked.  
  
'What? Oh, sure. If you figure out who the dude-' he smiled -why he was trying to use words like "dude and "chic" and "babe" lately was way beyond me- 'is, tell us, okay? Okay, Suze? Be-'  
  
'Okay, Doc,' I said, not bothering to call him David. It was kind of a habit now, and he didn't seem to mind. The corner of his mouth twitched.  
  
'See ya, Suze,' he said, and winked.  
  
Yes, you read the right. winked.  
  
Once he had gone, I gave an almighty laugh.  
  
~*~  
  
'Suze, pass the cheese?' asked Andy stiffly.  
  
I handed Andy, my step-dad, the bowl of grated cheese. It was dinner, and we were having tacos. Andy was really pissed, because our table was missing one of our number. And, ironically, it was Doc.  
  
'Where is he?' snapped Andy, glaring at where Doc should have been sitting. 'It's not like him to miss dinner, especially tacos. That'd be something I'd expect from you, Suze,' he said.  
  
'Thanks,' I said, annoyed.  
  
I bit into my taco, and much to my aggravation, the shell snapped, and the gooey salsa, lettuce, sour cream, tomato and mince meat oozed onto my plate. I carefully licked it up, and saw my family having the same difficulty. Dopey, a.k.a. Brad, astoundingly, was the neatest, as he demolished his tacos in three quick bites, having no time for the contents to fall out. I gaped at his never-to-be-repeated tidiness. What a rare sight. It should be the eighth wonder of the world.  
  
'Sorry!'  
  
Doc dashed in, and leapt on his seat, panting. His flaming hair was sticking up, and he was looking very ruffled. He began to help himself to a taco.  
  
'Hands off, young man. Where do you think you were, not letting me know, letting this good food get cold?' Andy sounded deadly. We all stopped eating, waiting to hear Doc's excuse.  
  
He blushed. 'I was working on my science project, creating a moving vehicle, powered exclusively by a mousetrap, the one that is due soon,' he said very quickly, which was a it weird. Sure, he's smart, Doc, but he doesn't talk quick. Talking quick isn't a sign of intelligence. Believe, me, I'd know.  
  
'Who were you working with?' demanded Andy. My mum frowned at his tone. Doc reddened further. 'Just, um, a person from my class, Shannon.'  
  
'Shannon?' asked Sleepy. 'Dude, or chic?'  
  
'Dude,' said Doc promptly. Too promptly.  
  
But Andy chose to let it go. He looked at his beet red son for a further minute, then went back to his taco.  
  
'Don't let it happen again,' he said gruffly. I think he was a bit shocked that his genius of a son had, for the first time in his life, (as far as I know,) been late for dinner.  
  
We were all a bit stunned.  
  
Doc wouldn't look me in the eye. Why not? Suddenly, a very strange idea occurred to me. Nah, not possible. or was it?  
  
~*~  
  
I must have fallen asleep. I mean, I'm pretty sure I did, because I was dreaming. I was trying not too, in case, you know, Jesse popped in for a visit from the rectory, but I failed, and there I was, snoozing. That's willpower for you, huh?  
  
. . . Before my eyes swirled visions of the Shadowland. Smoky wisps swirled before my eyes. I was in that very same corridor I'd seen that day. Darkness and fog obscured my vision. My heart was pounding loudly, and I felt as though it would wake the dead. Which, in Shadowland, isn't a good thing. Not that the dead sleep much.  
  
I ran down the corridor. The fog snagged at my legs, as if trying to pull me back. Soon, it was thick and heavy around me. I was trapped.  
  
All of a sudden, a hand caught mine. I screamed.  
  
'Well, fancy meeting you here?' asked Paul Slater merrily. One tug and I fell into his arms. The fog swirled around us both. I was so cold.  
  
'Let me go,' I said, which was really weird, as I was making no effort to get away. Paul seemed to be providing me warmth.  
  
'Why would I do that? This is one of the only places where you can't run from me,' he said nastily, his hand working up my back. Um, freaky!  
  
'Paul.' Now I was trying to get away. I struggled, but he grabbed my wrists, and slammed me against one of those doors. I seriously hoped that he didn't push me through.  
  
Squashed against the door, I was really worried. He forced my wrists above my head, and tried to kiss me. I turned my head, and kneed upwards. No effect? How rude! What a stupid dream!  
  
'Suze, you aren't dreaming,' he said. Huh?  
  
'Course I am.'  
  
'No, you're not. This is really me here. You have shifted. Very convenient for me,' he added with a smile, those icy eyes so close to mine. In the darks, they seemed to be burning.  
  
I was so cold! He transferred one of my wrists to his other hand, so it imprisoned both, and his free arm slipped behind my back, pushing me against him.  
  
Charming.  
  
'Paul!' I hissed, 'Stop it! Stop it now!' This was scaring me now. The density of the fog was threatening to suffocate me. I shivered uncontrollably now.  
  
He was kissing me again, kind of on my neck and just below me ear. Why me? Why did me always come after me?  
  
It's okay, Suze, it's just a dream-  
  
'You can think that if you like,' he said amid kisses, 'but it's not. This is very real.'  
  
I had a brainwave. 'If so,' I said, 'then see ya.'  
  
And I shifted.  
  
~*~ 'Querida, wake up.'  
  
Mmm.  
  
'Susannah!' My eyes snapped open angrily. Latino hotness swam into view. Jesse's eyes were glaring into mine, dark and liquidy. His gorgeous face was outlined sharply in the moonlight.  
  
'Huh? Whaddoyawant?' I asked groggily. 'God, Jesse, did ya have to wake me up? I was sleeping.'  
  
'That,' he replied, 'was obvious.'  
  
I turned over.  
  
'Oh, no you don't,' he flipped em back to face him. It was weird, and sent a certain thrill through me. I liked being bossed around by Jesse. but not all the time.  
  
'Jesse, I'm tired. I want to go back to.' I broke off, remembering the dream I'd been having. That was when the headache struck.  
  
'Ah, Crikey!' I yelled, sitting up fast, and clutching me head. 'Paul was right!' 'Paul?' he asked stiffly, 'What about him?'  
  
'Oh.nothing.' I said quickly. Oooh, that headache was rocketing. My head was fit to burst.  
  
'Jesse,' I said desperately, 'Not the time, come back later?'  
  
'No,' he said, 'This is important.' Geez, my head was swimming at the pain. My eyes prickled nastily.  
  
'Querida, you're crying!' gasped Jesse. I didn't blame him. I don't usually cry, unless he's like, dying, or forcing me to confess my love, or something like that. Or if badass Paul has framed me. Then, very rewardingly, he pulled my head into his chest. My ear was sitting on those hard muscles warmly, my blankets twisted around my legs.  
  
'What is it?' he asked, concerned. Maybe. maybe he did love me?  
  
'Nothing, killer headache,' I said honestly. Well, not the "nothing" bit, but oh well. He stroked my hair, and a thrill identical to the previous one shot through me. Then, he remembered he was avoiding coming into contact with me, and pushed me unceremoniously back onto the bed.  
  
A prince he is, really.  
  
'Susannah,' he said. 'I don't know if you have anything to do with this, but certain people have been following me.'  
  
Whoa! Someone stalking Jesse? Intriguing. 


	4. Egyptians?

'Go on?'  
  
'Four people have been following Spike and I around,' he said.  
  
'Who cares about Spike,' I said. He frowned. Even then, he was hot!  
  
'Spike is a very noble creature,' he said, 'He shouldn't be treated as though he is any lower than you or I, Susan-' Geez, Spike wasn't even here, and he was defending him! Usually he did this, because he was afraid that I'd "hurt Spike's feelings."  
  
Seriously.  
  
'Jesse, I don't give a rat's about him at-' I checked my watch, '-three. What are these people doing?'  
  
Just following, so far, and talking to me in a foreign language that I do not recognize,' his brow furrowed. 'They are not here now.'  
  
'Are they ghosts, or alive?' I asked.  
  
'Obviously, ghosts, or they wouldn't be able to see me,' he said sensibly. Oh yeah, aye.  
  
'Well, why is this a problem?' I asked. 'Do they want to be mediated?' Jesse shook his head. 'No. I don't think so.'  
  
At that moment, there was a terrible squelch. I looked, shocked, at the window, and saw Spike sliding down the glass. I winced. He must have thought the window was open.  
  
Ouch.  
  
Immediately, Jesse jumped up, and went to fetch his beloved cat. He stroked his fuzzy wet, ugly head. 'Oh, Spiky, are you all right?' he asked in a tone I wish he'd use on me. Damn cat, doesn't know how lucky he is.  
  
'Jesse, he's fine. Concentrate, pl-'  
  
A quartet of shimmers stopped me.  
  
~*~  
  
'Whoa!' I yelled. I jumped out of my bed, and stepped back.  
  
'That's them,' said Jesse calmly.  
  
Four serious looking ghosts stood there, glaring at Jesse. Then, one of them began talking.  
  
Really, fast, even faster than me.  
  
Oh, and in Egyptian.  
  
Seriously. I had four Egyptian ghosts in my bedroom. Oh, and a hot Latino, too. Nah, but of this foursome, there was one girl, and the rest were male. I was kind of reminded of the RLS Angels for a moment, but then, there had been two girls, two guys, hey? Same difference. Now, I can't understand Egyptian. I mean, I don't' learn it at school, hey? Then again, they teach Spanish at the Juniperro Serra Mission Academy, and I don't understand Jesse, but yeah.  
  
'Whoa,' I said for the second time, my eyes gaping. 'Calm down.'  
  
The babbling male stopped, and stared at me with intense Egyptian eyes. I shivered. They were seriously freaky, you know? Again, he began to talk in Egyptian. The girl joined him. And so did the other dudes. Geez, if my headache was bad before, they were so not helping!  
  
'SHUT UP!' I roared. This was unwise, as I was the only person my family was able to hear, but they didn't come running up the stairs to check on me, so I was all right.  
  
The Egyptian four stopped completely.  
  
'Okay,' I said carefully. Jesse was grinning, as if enjoying seeing me trying to mediate ghosts who spoke a foreign language. 'I'm Sue-zan-haaah.' I lengthened all the syllables, and pointed to my chest, to indicate I was saying my name.  
  
The girl smiled a pretty Egyptian smile, muttered something to the others, and they smiled too. Except for the middle-height male. Oh, joy, they understood me. The girl beamed at me. From beneath a shawl over her head, dark hair was peaking out untidily. She wore a long white robe, or dress, or whatever.  
  
'Naeemah,' she said, pointing too at herself.  
  
'Amun,' said the tallest male, who was actually kind of good-looking, I guess. He had a prickly looking beard, and slanted dark eyes. He also donned a robe.  
  
'Jafari,' the shortest male introduced himself as. He, in a chubby way, was kind of cute. He was wearing what looked like. a turban? The last wasn't smiling much. 'Khufu,' he grunted, his arms across his chest. 'Hector,' said Jesse, pointing at himself. I think he was actually enjoying himself. 'Spike,' he introduced, holding Spike's paw to his furry tummy. Spike purred contentedly. Jesse grinned.  
  
'You're so immature,' I shook my head at him.  
  
But the Egyptian four were chuckling. Naeemah shook her head vigorously, pointing at Spike. 'Bastet,' she said.  
  
Huh?!  
  
'Jesse,' I turned to him, thoroughly confused. My head pounded dully.  
  
'I don't understand either, Querida, but, as I have researched, Bastet is an Ancient Egyptian god. The feline god, if I am correct. However, it is a. a girl's name,' he said, as if straining to remember. Unless he picked up an Ancient Egypt book lately, I guessed that he was remembering one hundred and fifty years back.  
  
'Bastet?' I asked, laughing. 'And I thought Spike was bad. So, what's my name in Egyptian, hey?'  
  
Naeemah frowned. Oh, yeah, they can't understand English, hey? Jesse put Spike down, who flew out the window again. Psycho cat. I scowled.  
  
Then, to my surprise, the Egyptian ghosts dematerialized. I blinked at where Jafari, Amun, Khufu, and Naeemah had just been.  
  
'Did that just happen?' I checked with Jesse.  
  
'Yes.'  
  
'Okay, now Jesse, I've been meaning to have a word with-'  
  
But the bugger dematerialized too! 


	5. Kellys' grilling

Damn ghosts! They always do that! I mean, seriously, you try and get a serious word out of them, and they scarper.  
  
I was really weirded out. Well, you would be too. This had to be one of the most interesting mediating cases I'd ever had. I mean, four Egyptian ghosts, who didn't want to be mediated, didn't look as if they wanted to cause trouble for me, and didn't look all that dangerous? A first for me, I will admit. But I had to research them more, I guess.  
  
Don't you just hate research?  
  
That's more CeeCee's thing, you know? By the way, CeeCee Webb the best friend I have in Carmel, as well as Adam McTavish. They do not know about my being a mediator, but CeeCee is suspecting it. Not that she knows that I'm a mediator, exactly, she just knows that my would-be boyfriend is dead, and only I can see his apparent ghost. She knows that his ghost exists, for at Dopey's last hot tub party, Jesse tried, well, to basically drown Paul in, funnily enough, our hot tub. And while everyone assumed that Paul Slater was either a suicidal maniac, or was seriously drunk, or on drugs, or in desperate need of medication, (take your pick,) CeeCee realized that Paul wasn't the only one talking to the unseen force holding him down.  
  
I was too.  
  
And she knows perfectly well that I am sane, and is trying to research my condition further. I hope that she doesn't find anything, as she will most likely blab about it one the front of the Carmel newspaper. Can you imagine? "SUSANNAH SIMON, A LINK BETWEEN THE BAD-BREATHED AND THE NO- BREATH." I'm so sure.  
  
To try and ease my troubled mind, I picked up that photo that I had asked Doc for before. I stared at Bessie. She looked no naïve, with her tumbling black hair, her olden day summer dress, and her Snow White, fairytale princess face. Why did she get all the luck? I mean, the guy next to her was h-h-hot!  
  
By that time, my eyes had flickered towards her masculine friend. I now realized what Doc meant. It was tormenting! My mind recognized this boy, but I couldn't put a name to him, if you know what I mean. Was he a ghost I had mediated? Or. God! (No, I wasn't suggesting that this boy was the Holy Father.) It was so infuriating! I stared intensely at those light, icy eyes. You could tell that they were blue. He was wearing a pastel shirt with a neat collar, and -gag- breeches. A small dark tie hung from his neck, and looked as if he'd just been to school. Whereas the girl, like I said, was wearing a dress, not giving me the "oh, I'm a schoolgirl of the 1960s" feel at all. It looked like the dress that I'd seen her in upon her ghostly visitation.  
  
That was when I put down the photograph, and before my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.  
  
~*~  
  
'Suze, I swear! Get you butt down here now, Or we're leaving without you! You do this every morning!' bellowed Sleepy up the stairs.  
  
Huh?  
  
'Susie, get up!' yelled mom.  
  
'I'm up!' I snapped. A lie. I dashed to my wardrobe, but tripped, as my twisted blankets snagged at my feet.  
  
'Crap,' I cursed, and pushed down the quilt. I got up, and grabbed out the first things I saw: dirty denim jeans, and an off the shoulder top. I grabbed a mint, and choked it down, a substitute for toothpaste, (I know, I'm low, but hey? I was in a hurry!) and my brush, for my morning hair really isn't a good. Breakfast was neglected.  
  
Sleepy, Dopey and Doc glowered at me, as I was taming my afro-potential hair. The engine roared into life, and Dopey snorted at me.  
  
'Were you talking to Jesse again last night?' he wanted to know rudely.  
  
'No,' I lied. How had he heard me?!  
  
'Oh. Riiight,' he snorted again. 'Oh, um, Jethee, I've been meaning to have a word with you,' he said in a gay accent.  
  
'I must have been sleep talking,' I said carefully.  
  
'Oh? You dream about this guy? Interesting,' he smirked evilly.  
  
I elbowed him, and that served well to shut him up.  
  
~*~  
  
'Hey, Suze.'  
  
'Hey Adam.'  
  
'What's up?'  
  
'The sky?'  
  
I was sitting with Adam and CeeCee beneath the recently repaired statue of Father Juniperro Serra. They were looking at me strangely. Trying to bring to a standstill to their intense looks, I asked, hey, you know who this is?'  
  
I shoved Doc's mystery photograph under her nose. Her annoyed expression looked interested suddenly.  
  
'Oh, Jesus, I know who it is!' she said loudly. Debbie Mancuso looked at her, and snorted, but CeeCee didn't care. Adam snatched the photo from her.  
  
'Hey, I was looking-!'  
  
'Shut up, Webb,' he said, and gazed at the couple in the photo. Actually, no, he was more focused on the guy. CeeCee was silenced.  
  
'You know who it is?' I asked her. She nodded fiercely, but then shook her head.  
  
'CeeCee,' I smiled, ' just because Adam told you not to talk, that you're not allowed to.' I wiggled my eyebrows at her, and she glared guiltily.  
  
'I know who it is, but I can't. remember?' she scowled, and released a groan of frustration. Once again, Debbie and Kelly Prescott looked at her and laughed at her lack of femininity. I sighed, and told her that it was exactly what I had been annoyed about. Adam was still scrutinizing though.  
  
'Any luck, Adam?' I asked hopefully.  
  
'Same as CeeCee,' he frowned. I didn't bother asking them about the girl.  
  
That was when they forgot about the exasperating photo, and continued to look at me strangely. Okay, that was getting freaky now.  
  
'Um, what's up with you today?' I snapped. 'Have a grown another head?'  
  
CeeCee and Adam exchanged glances. 'No, you just look. really neurotic,' smiled Adam mischievously.  
  
'Thanks, really.' I sighed, and turned to CeeCee. 'Hey, I need your help with some research.'  
  
'What type?'  
  
'Ah, I think. Egyptology.'  
  
'Okay, easy. Come with me.'  
  
'What, now?!' I gaped at her eagerness. 'I don't care if you wanna waste you lunch, I don't,' I said.  
  
'Suze, this is for you. Fine. You can stay here and show off to the guys and be a flirt, but I'm going to help you.'  
  
'Hey,' I lashed out, 'I'm not a flirt! And I don't show off to the guys! I have Je-' I covered my mouth, and suddenly the floor was very interesting.  
  
'What, you're dating him?' grinned Adam. 'So, I have no reason to live anymore? You're like, taken?'  
  
'Maybe.'  
  
'Suze, this isn't the legendary Jesse that you've been going on about, is it?'  
  
'I have not been going on about him!' I protested. CeeCee looked concerned.  
  
'Suze,' she said gently, 'I really don't think you should be focusing on someone of his- ah, specific category.' She looked pained. I looked at her quickly, with an intense "Shut up, or you may meet the same decapitated fate as Father Serra's statue." She of course, didn't realize I was thinking this. But she got the message. Too late, though.  
  
'Specific category?' asked a voice. Whoa, I didn't realise that Kelly Prescott could move so quietly. She glared at Adam, her look signifying for him to move, so she could sit down on the bench, but he slid rebelliously closer to me, and blew her a raspberry. CeeCee rolled her eyes, and walked away, and Kelly quickly occupied the vacant space on the bench.  
  
'So, Suze,' she said conversationally, 'I've been talking to Paul, and he's been saying that you and- uh, Jesse have broken up.'  
  
'What?!'  
  
Kelly shrank. 'Chill, Simon!' she said in alarm. 'Geez, okay, he was lying, I'll tell the girls. But what did she mean, specific category?' She was referring to CeeCee's unwise statement.  
  
I shrugged. 'He is in college,' I said easily. It was best to keep up with this lie. 'But he's taking time off. You don't know him,' I added, as she opened her mouth and her heavily glossed lips closed.  
  
She giggled. 'He's hot?'  
  
'Hotter than Paul, times googolplex,' I said confidently. Her eyes widened with interest.  
  
'You know, I'm thinking of asking Paul out. You don't have a problem with that, do you, Suze?' she looked at a bird overhead. It sent a present down on a year ten on a neighbouring bench, and she cast a disgusted look at the bird. I snorted.  
  
'Be my guest,' I said airily. 'You two'll be perfect for each other.'  
  
'Yeah,' said Adam. 'Because they're both such lovely people.'  
  
Kelly missed the sarcasm.  
  
'Okay, just as long as you know,' she said. 'I mean, I think he was stressed when he dissed me last week. I've forgiven him. And poor thing, he didn't get VP, so he must be so upset.'  
  
'Wounded pride,' said Adam, keeping a straight face.  
  
'Exactly,' answered Kelly, glaring at Adam as if he was a bit of mud that had caked up on her Jimmy Choos. 'You just seemed fond of him. I mean, you were very close, he told me, how you did it with him-'  
  
'WHAT?!' roared Adam and I in unison. 'He said that?!'  
  
Once again, Kelly looked startled. 'Simon, calm down. I'll tell the girls that you didn't sleep with him. Unless you did, and you're ashamed, or-'  
  
'I did not, I repeat, I DID NOT, sleep with that excuse for a-'  
  
'She didn't,' defended Adam loyally. Kelly's eyes narrowed at him.  
  
'Okay, Suze. Why would he say that though?'  
  
'Spreading rumours. He's doing it because he's pissed off. Don't listen to a word he says,' I raged. I know, reasoning with Kelly Prescott was like trying to stuff an elephant in a paper bag, but hey? I was mad.  
  
Kelly looked disheartened. 'Maybe I shouldn't ask him out, if he'll try and make me look like a slut when I'm through with him,' she said sadly. 'Thanks, Suze, for warning me.' She left, and Adam made a big face at her behind her back.  
  
'She already is a slut,' he said, settling back on the bench. 'So, Suze, this Jesse's in college?'  
  
'Um, yeah. Adam, I really don't wanna talk-'  
  
'Oh, right. So. you didn't sleep with Paul, right?' he asked carefully.  
  
'No,' I sniffed. 'I didn't. You know me well enough to know I wouldn't.'  
  
'I'd like to get to know you better,' he teased, and made a mocking motion as if to push me onto the bench and kiss me. I laughed, and pushed him off me. Kelly, who was back with her cronies, was gawking at me, and began gossiping energetically to her group.  
  
'I'd better go to CeeCee,' I said, 'I didn't even tell her what I was looking for.'  
  
'I'll come too. The library's a very private place,' he hinted, with a playful twinkle in his eye. Again, I laughed. He followed me to CeeCee.  
  
~*~  
  
'Cee, what are you doing?' I asked blankly. She was pouring over a pink- covered novel, her mouth open slightly. Her white hair was brushing the pages, she was so close to it. 'Huh? Oh, um, nothing,' she said quickly, trying to stuff the novel in her backpack, but Adam got there first. He eagerly read the page aloud.  
  
' "His hand slid down my side. I could feel his breath fluttering my hair. I gasped, 'Harold, here?' 'Yes here,' he replied in that deep, rich voice that stimulated every nerve in my body.' " Adam read. 'Oh, sick!' he muttered, scanning the page further. CeeCee pounced on the book, and whacked him over the head.  
  
Hard.  
  
'Geez, you like that shit?' he asked with a sly grin. CeeCee's abnormally pale face went so red, it looked as if she'd spent seven hours in direct sun. (Okay, slight exaggeration, her being albino, but not far off!)  
  
'Get lost, Adam,' she whispered dangerously. Adam, sensibly, detecting her wrath, strode out of the library. Her furious look turned to a slightly wistful one. She sighed, and slipped the novel into her backpack slowly, not meeting my eye.  
  
'You really like him, don't you,' I said.  
  
'Who , Adam? Nah,' she replied sheepishly.  
  
'Sure, Cee. Okay, so, can you help me research? Sorry if I was being a bitch before. I'm just annoyed about that photo. It's frustrating knowing and yet not knowing who that dude is, hey?' And it's frustrating how a guy Frenches you in a cemetery, and then wants nothing to do with you. I didn't say that aloud, but by God, I was thinking it.  
  
'Oh. Well, we'll look in the net, all right?'  
  
'Fine by me.'  
  
~*~ A/N: Thanks for the reviews so far. I hope you're enjoying this. There's a bit of a twist coming up, so don't give up on me. This is my first fanfic ever, so don't be too harsh. Not that you are being, you're being wonderful. 


	6. Frazzled Father Dom

'Susannah Simon!'  
  
The hunting cry of Sister Ernestine rung out through the corridor. Geez, what had I done now?  
  
'Hello, Sister,' I said. Everyone's eyes were upon me. I felt mortified.  
  
'Don't you "hello Sister" me, young lady,' she screeched, her bosom waving in front of my face. Her dangling crucifix caught the light glaringly, reflecting into my eyes, so my innocent look wasn't working, with all the squinting I had to do.  
  
'You are violating the dress code!' she yelled in my face, her heavily eyebrowed eyes were in slits of anger, her eyeballs almost hidden behind pouches of fat. I looked down, and realised that I was wearing jeans. Jeans! Damn, they were forbidden to wear to school. How could I have been so stupid?  
  
'That's a detention, Miss Simon. And the Principal wants to see you,' she said nastily. I glared at her retreating back. Her huge posterior was wobbling as she walked.  
  
Charming, really.  
  
~*~  
  
Annoyed, I went to Father Dominic's office. I was about to open the door, when, with a shimmer, the ghost of Bessie materialized before his bookshelf. She looked lost and sad. I couldn't talk to her, because of the receptionist, but I gave her a "don't go" look, and pushed through Father D's door.  
  
The old priest was looking very, very tense and frazzled. His usually dead straight parting in his pure white hair was a little zigzagged, and wrinkles of worry creased his old face. He was reading what looked like an application form or something.  
  
'Father Dom?' I asked softly.  
  
With a jump, he put stuffed the application form away, much like CeeCee had done with her raunchy novel. 'Susannah,' he said, in a weird, rusty voice, 'I-I wasn't expecting you.'  
  
I raised an eyebrow. 'Really?' I asked, 'Sister Ernestine said you were asking for me.'  
  
He looked puzzled. 'Oh-Oh yes, of course. I remember.'  
  
'Father D, are you all right?' I asked with concern. The old guy looked really jaded. His eyes had kind of dark circles beneath them. 'You look like shit.'  
  
Father D smiled, despite my swearing, while usually, he would have lectured me about it.  
  
'Thank you,' he said somewhat sarcastically, staring at his hands. 'Susannah, I have had a word with Jesse,' he said, shifting a little. Oooh, here we go again . . .  
  
'Look, Father,' I began.  
  
'If I may, Susannah,' he said, 'I really wish that, upon any spectral activity, you contact me straight away. I am very disappointed that you haven't been doing so. These four Egyptian ghosts last night, what did they say?'  
  
'One, Father Dom, I was dead tired, so I barely remember,' I pouted, 'Two, hasn't Jesse told you? And three, um, the language they were speaking in? Yeah, that was Egyptian!' I mean, really. He knows my grades in Spanish, you'd think he'd realize I suck at any other language besides English. I mean, seriously. What kind of question was that?  
  
Father Dom winced, as if he had a headache. 'Father D, you are not okay. What's going on that you aren't telling me? I mean, if I have to tell you, you can't keep me in the dark either. It's a two way street. Now, fess up?'  
  
'Headache,' he said shortly. 'If you do not know what happened with our Egyptian friends, you can go, Susannah.'  
  
'I know their names,' I said, trying to be helpful. I mean, the poor guy was sick. It was all I could do.  
  
'You do? You said-'  
  
'Never mind what I said. You didn't ask the right question. The girl was. Naomi. no, Naeemah, yeah. The short dude was.Jafari, I think. The tallest was Amun, and the angry guy, the one who looks like you just called him something really foul, was Khufu. Okay?'  
  
Father Dominic nodded half-heartedly. 'Fine, Susannah. You may go.'  
  
Whoa, what's up his butt?  
  
I left the office, but Bessie had gone.  
  
~*~  
  
'Yo, Suze! I just had an idea!' yelled CeeCee to me on the oval. We were in P.E, playing soccer.  
  
'God, I hate this uniform,' groaned Adam, 'It's giving me a wedgie.'  
  
'Lovely,' said CeeCee with disgust. 'We needed to know that.'  
  
'Precisely why I told you,' grimaced Adam, pulling his shorts down a fraction to reveal the hem of a pair of red boxers.  
  
CeeCee stared momentarily, before jerking to her senses.  
  
I laughed. 'So, what's your big idea, then, Cee?'  
  
CeeCee smiled. 'You know my Aunt Pru? Well, she knows Egyptian. You can ask her stuff. She used to be an Egyptologist, before she went screwy in the head, and became a New Age nonconformist.' I nodded. This was interesting. 'That's why she reckons I was Queen Cleopatra the Seventh in my last life. We're only ever Egyptians in our last lives, according to her. You go up to her today and ask her, see what she says. And you can ask her about your assignment thing. What subject was it for?' she frowned prettily.  
  
'Oh, um, kind of an interest,' I said, 'not an assignment.' CeeCee stared at me.  
  
ZOOM! The soccer ball came from do where, destined to hit my face. Annoyed, I punched it away so hard, it arched through the sky, and careered onto the rode, where it was promptly run over by a speeding car. Everyone laughed. Mr Owen scowled at me.  
  
'Simon, at the rate you're going, we're going to have no P.E supplies!' he snapped. 'Kelly, go and fetch that pancaked ball.'  
  
'But-'  
  
'GO.'  
  
I was laughing like crazy with CeeCee and Adam. Mr Owen was not happy. 'Webb, you get over to that corner, McTavish, you near the goals. And Simon, you stay there. I don't want anymore talking!'  
  
'And I thought PMS only affected girls,' muttered Adam, jogging over to the opposite side of the soccer field. I snorted. 


	7. Aunt Pru, the Clairvoyant

Adam drove us, which wasn't anything new. He drives us everywhere. In the front seat, which he had insisted I sat, he was chatting busily. 'I remember last time you took us to Aunt Pru's,' he said merrily to CeeCee, 'So was rambling on about Ninth Keys. Hilarious!'  
  
CeeCee was mortified. She glared into his little rear view mirror, but instead of heeding her irritation, he fed from it. 'You have an awesome aunt, Cee. I mean, it must be amazing to have a relative worthy of a mental institution. I bed you hold onto her just for entertainment?' He was only joking of course. I tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
'Adam, stop it.'  
  
'Yes, my mistress,' he smiled, grabbing my hand and kissing it, all while going around a corner. We were there.  
  
'Please exit the vehicle, as we have reached our destination,' he said in a voice not unlike the woman on the telephone, "Your call cannot be connected . . ." CeeCee rolled her eyes.  
  
I saw a twitch in the curtain by the door. CeeCee reached up her hand to knock, but the door opened first.  
  
'Hello, my dears, I foresaw your arrival,' she said in a musical voice that was quite pleasant on the ears. A wave of aroma blasted its smelly way up my nostrils with quite an overwhelming affect. I felt very dizzy. I mean, what a fraud! She'd peaked through the curtain. I said nothing, though, not wanting to embarrass CeeCee. But Adam dying silently of laughter. He must have seen it too.  
  
"Aunt Pru" was wearing her long, dead straight blond hair down. Her eyes were heavily made up for a very dramatic effect. She had a purple dress on with what looked like a sarong, and a further beaded shawl. She looked quite good, in a ridiculous sort of way. Adam was clearly loving every minute of this. CeeCee looked as if she wanted the wall to close in on her.  
  
'Now, my darlings, what brings you here?' she asked. I opened my mouth to speak, but CeeCee got there first.  
  
'Suze, my friend, wants to know a little about Egypt,' she said.  
  
Aunt Pru's expression changed to one of pure glee. 'Oh! Well, my dear Susan, I-'  
  
'Susannah,' I corrected automatically.  
  
'-Susannah. I know a lot about Egypt. The ancient history is quite fascinating. They were the first empire to-'  
  
'Aunt Pru,' sighed CeeCee boredly. 'Shut up with all that bullshit. Suze is going to ask you stuff, and you give her direct answers, okay? Don't freak her out with long winded lectures about all the historical crap.'  
  
Whoa. CeeCee had not only just dissed her Aunt, but had, for the first time in her life, shown a disregard towards history. I mean. whoa.  
  
Aunt Pru was shocked, but then looked just pissed off. 'CeeCee, my love,' she said spitefully, 'You have no tolerance for the spellbinding past of-'  
  
'I'm serious, Aunt Pru,' glared CeeCee through intense purple eyes.  
  
Aunt Pru sniffed huffily. 'Very well,' she said. 'Would you like to remain out here, and ask me, dearest, or go in the reading room?'  
  
'Reading room?' I asked uncertainly.  
  
'That's where I do my palm and Tarot readings. Alone,' she added to her niece, who rolled her eyes.  
  
'Oh, the reading room would be great,' I said, to Adam's outrage. He obviously wanted to hear more of Aunt Pru's insanity, but I wasn't too keen on letting him hear mine. Not that I'm insane, just CeeCee'll get all questioning, and Adam won't believe me.  
  
I followed Aunt Pru to her reading room. The walls were laced with silky material, beads, and pictures of Indians and wolves. Around the room were all these sets of Tarot cards, and bowls of water. A kind of bed thing was in the corner, where I assumed she did, what, massages? An assortment of different coloured crystals hung from a key rack on the wall that wasn't covered in silk.  
  
She motioned for me to sit on one of three chairs. I sat.  
  
Not being able to control herself, she asked, 'You don't want a reading, do you my love?' I smiled, about to say no, but then considered it. The last person who'd done anything of that sort had been a psychic called Madame Zara. My previous best friend had been with me then. She had told me that I was a mediator, or a medium, as she told me, and that also, I would have one true love for all eternity. Something to that effect . . .  
  
'Okay,' I said carefully. 'Not a Tarot reading, I don't like Tarot. Just something that'll . . . see my future?'  
  
'Of course,' she purred, and seized my palm, fingering all of the creases in my hand. 'You are familiar with palm readings?' she asked.  
  
'Nup. Not a clue.'  
  
'Oh,' she smiled, probably because, if she was wrong about something, I wouldn't know any better. 'Well, you have a surprisingly short health line, my darling. The health line crossing the life line indicates poor health and inherited illness, but yours don't cross. Funny. Maybe you'll just die young,' she said bluntly. My eyes widened.  
  
'Oh,' I said weakly, 'Ah, cool . . .'  
  
'Now. A long sun line implies a blessed life. An indistinct line means a dearth of concentration. A line that curves towards the thumb means that you are a high flier. You. ah, your sun line is unusually long, and slightly curves to your thumb. Very interesting,' she said mellifluously, her huge purple eyes a centimeter from my hand, fingering it quickly.  
  
Great. The Holy Father has given me a long sun line, because he thinks my life is blessed. I think my life is cursed.  
  
'You have a double fate line, indicating you have, um, two careers. One you like, and one you don't like,' she added. She could say that again. I'm betting that those two careers were mediating, and life. 'A rounded heart line, some distance from your fingers, means you are charitable, affectionate, loving and sensuous. A broken line means unfaithfulness and disloyalty. I'm happy to say that your heart line is the first. You, according to you palm, are very, very loving and loyal.' She patted me on the head. 'Good girl.'  
  
I choked down a laugh.  
  
'Your life line has two splits in it, meaning that your life will, or has experienced major change,' she said. 'Have you been through many change lately?'  
  
Um, did she mean puberty? I stifled another laugh.  
  
'Ah, I moved from Brooklyn to Carmel?' I asked. 'That was the biggest thing that's happened to me so far.' It was. I wasn't lying. Mediation was big, but it wasn't a change. I'd always been a mediator, right?  
  
'And lastly, your head line . . Aaah, I didn't notice this before. Your head line and heart line have merged together. You have a Simian line, rather, meaning that you are very passionate, frequently led astray by your heart, example, taking jobs that you enjoy above well paying ones.' Huh? This wasn't me. 'You find it difficult to tell lies, even white ones.'  
  
'No, I'm not like that at all,' I said defiantly, 'I tell lies all the time, and I have a job that doesn't pay anything and it sucks.' Aunt Pru gave me a "you caught me trying to cheat" look, and glanced back down at my hand.  
  
'Oh, would you look at that,' she said, her voice breaking slightly. 'They don't merge at all. You have cupped your hand, dearest.' I hadn't of course, the fraud. Oh well, at least with the Egyptian thing, it was history, and couldn't be predicted by a clairvoyant. 'Your headline is forked, meaning you have excellent communication.' She could say that again. I communicated even with the people of the six-feet-under variety.  
  
I feel so privileged, really I do.  
  
'Uh, Aunt . . . Miss Webb?' I asked, not knowing what to call her. I mean, she wasn't my aunt, hey?  
  
'Call me Pru, my sweet.'  
  
'Can I ask you about that Egyptian stuff now?'  
  
'Of course, my treasure.' Okay, those pet names were really pissing me off now, but is Suze Simon rude to crazy lady? Nah . . .of course not.  
  
'Sorry, but those names are really pissing me off,' I snapped. She looked startled, seizing my palm again. 'You are a very short tempered person,' she revealed, with a scowl.  
  
Yeah, whatever.  
  
Then, I had an idea. "Jesse, I need you, I'm about to find out stuff about those Egyptian people, and you might want to listen?" I thought intensely. And he materialized just behind Pru. She shivered, and Jesse looked at me questioningly.  
  
'Just stay quiet,' I mouthed.  
  
'So, Pru, I've just seen, ah, a TV show on Egypt,' I said. She nodded, disgruntled. 'Yeah, and on there, there were four people, by the names of Amun, Khufu-'  
  
'Pharaohs?'  
  
'No, Amun, Khufu, Naeemah, and Jafari. Were they important at all?' Her look changed totally. 'You know about them?' I asked, my heart lifting considerably. Jesse leaned forward.  
  
'Yes, I do. They were scribes,' she revealed. 'They were mummified.'  
  
Oh, delightful.  
  
'Is that all?'  
  
'No. A shifter, like a medium . . . you know what a medium is, right?' I shook my head. Jesse looked perplexed. 'You of all people should know, querida, he said. I know, I did know. Ha! How could I not? But I guess I wanted to here it from someone else.  
  
'Well, a medium could contact the souls of the deceased, whereas a shifter, as an archaeologist called Dr. Oliver Slaski-' my ears perked up, but not Jesse's. Figured, I hadn't told him about what had happened in Paul's room that day . . . uh, yeah, '-deciphered them to be called, could apparently move across the astral plane. A fat lot of rubbish,' she said.  
  
Whoa! A bit rich coming from an old bird who thought a skeleton on a bit of cardboard meant death . . .  
  
For once, I held my tongue. Jesse chuckled at me.  
  
'But anyway, a certain "shifter,"' she sarcastically bowed her middle and index fingers on the word, 'didn't lead their souls to their final destination, but, rather, cruelly mistreated them.' She leaned forward to me, as if telling me a secret. Jesse frowned. 'The doctor suspects that this "shifter" was related to him very distantly,' she divulged in a whisper.  
  
Okay then.  
  
'What else does she know, querida?' Jesse asked.  
  
'Anything else about them?' I asked.  
  
'Well, they were scribes in the time of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun. A scribe is a recorder of history. They wrote in heiroglyphics,' she said. 'That is all I know. I can tell you much more, though-'  
  
'Nah, tha's great, Pru,' I smiled, and hastily grabbed my backpack up, to show I was done. Jesse, with a nod, dematerialized. She looked annoyed. 'Okay,' she sighed, 'That'll be twelve dollars.'  
  
I stopped dead.  
  
'What?' I gasped. 'You're charging your neice's best friend?'  
  
'No,' she said, and I relaxed. 'I'm charging a client, regardless of her status.'  
  
What a cow!  
  
I pushed the door of the reading room open and frantically whispered to CeeCee, 'Cee, do you have twelve dollars on you? I'm being charged.'  
  
CeeCee looked furious. 'Aunt Pru!' she yelled.  
  
Aunt Pru strode out, looking guilty. 'What?' she asked, trying to seem innocent, not sure whether I'd told CeeCee about her charging me.  
  
'There is no fee for information,' she snapped.  
  
'Aaah, but your friend not only got her information, but a palm reading,' she said smugly. CeeCee looked at me questioningly.  
  
'She kind of forced me into it,' I said weakly.  
  
'Aunt Pru, Suze is not paying you anything! I can't believe you'd embarrass me like this!' CeeCee glared. If looks could kill, Aunt Pru would probably asking to be mediated right about now.  
  
'Okay, you can't blame me for trying,' she muttered. 'Go on, get out.' Her musical tone was gone, and she sounded really cheesed off. Adam, no longer being able to contain himself, burst out laughing. It was kind of funny. But Adam was really going over board, leaning heavily on CeeCee for support so he wouldn't collapse to the floor. Under his weight, it was now CeeCee most likely to collapse to the floor.  
  
Aunt Pru was outraged.  
  
'Just- Just- Just one thing,' guffawed Adam, gasping for air, 'Who was I in my past life?'  
  
Aunt Pru looked daggers at him 'Imotep, the traitor High Priest,' she answered snidely, and brushed us all outside.  
  
We were on the porch, staring at the closed door in front of us. It was dark out. Adam looked almost hurt. 'He was that evil ass who was in "The Mummy," right?' he asked.  
  
'Yeah,' said CeeCee, 'just ignore her.'  
  
'Cool. You can see where my badassness comes from, then?' he grinned. CeeCee smiled.  
  
'Nah, you were not Imotep, Adam. Don't flatter yourself. And I was not Cleopatra the Seventh. I mean, do I look like royalty to you?'  
  
'Yes,' breathed Adam, making CeeCee blush furiously.  
  
'Ah, guys?' I asked, hoping I wasn't interrupting a precious moment.  
  
'Go away, Suze,' whispered CeeCee, pushing my arm so I would get a move on. I went and sat in Adam's car. I really needed to be home by now. I mean, it was eight. I grabbed CeeCee's mobile from her bag, and called home.  
  
'Uh, hi, Sleepy. Tell mom I'll be home soon, and sorry if I've missed dinner. I had something unexpected come up, and it wasn't supposed to last this long, and I didn't-'  
  
'Slow down, Suze,' barked Sleepy, 'I can't understand a freaking word you're saying.'  
  
I carefully repeated myself to him.  
  
'Okay. Yes, we have had dinner. Dad's gonna go psycho at you when you get home, so watch your back. We had Lasagna, and he saved you some, even though we all told him not to. I'll tell your mom where you are. Bye-'  
  
He was about to hang up, when he asked, 'Suze, you not at a gang meeting, are you?'  
  
'SLEEPY!' I yelled.  
  
'No, I'm not sleepy,' he said, shocked. 'I'm wide wake. I slept through three lectures today-'  
  
'JAKE!' I yelled, but it didn't have the same anger in it that my other shout had. 'I'm NOT in a gang. Get it through your dense head!'  
  
'Cool it, Suze,' he said. 'See ya.'  
  
That was when he hung up.  
  
I looked up at the porch, and saw one of the most gratifying scenes of my life. Adam had swooped down, and was kissing CeeCee very thoroughly. It looked very romantic, on the porch, with the moonlight behind them, and a gentle fog virtually concealing them. CeeCee looked as if it was the best moment of her life. Which it probably was. Her secret ardour for Adam had a slow-burning one, and years of hidden love had finally paid off. I just hoped that they weren't going to do anything hot and heavy on the porch. I mean, one, I was watching, two, Aunt Pru was probably watching, and three, on a PORCH?! Nah, sex is just too precious for that.  
  
Luckily, CeeCee pulled away, looked warily over at me in the car, whispered something to Adam, who grinned, and nodded eagerly, and they both started walking towards the car. Panicking, I grabbed CeeCee's phone again, and held it to my ear.  
  
As they slid in the car, I went 'Bye, mom,' and pressed a button, any button that made a beep.  
  
'Were you like, watching anything?' asked CeeCee anxiously.  
  
'What?' I asked, hoping I sounded oblivious and stupid.  
  
'Oh, never mind,' CeeCee smiled with satisfaction. Adam winked at her, and he drove me home.  
  
~*~ A/N: Isn't it nice to see CeeCee and Adam get together? Please review, I won't be long in updating, as I'm on a roll. I think. 


	8. Jesse's Plan

Once safely in my room, I began to think. It was so nice to know that CeeCee and Adam were FINALLY going out. Well, I assumed they were. You don't kiss a girl that hard for nothing. And the tongue department was getting pretty electrified. CeeCee must have been in seventh heaven about now. . . Not that I'm thinking what CeeCee and Adam are doing right now, guys! But judging by the way that Adam had been winking at my albino friend, I had a pretty good idea.  
  
Anyway, I needed to talk to Jesse about this thing that we'd heard from CeeCee's Aunt Pru. I mean, that palm reading thing was complete rubbish, but I think she was being honest with the Egyptian stuff. I don't think she could really lie about it. Well, technically, it is possible, but she wouldn't.  
  
Surprisingly, the person I wanted to talk to the most was Paul. Funny, huh? I mean, he claims to be The Genius on this crap, so he should know a bit about stuff like Egyptian peoples? I have no idea.  
  
'Jesse, get your arse here, I want to talk about thing Egyptian thingamabob with you,' I drawled. With a unearthly shimmer, Jesse dematerialized, looking incredibly hot. I mean, out of all the guys that get murdered, why do they have to kill off the cute ones? Why couldn't they off dudes like Paul? Mind you, Paul's no dag. He's actually pretty good-looking, with a nice manly figure, distantly resembling Jesse's. Not that  
  
I'm an expert on Jesse.  
  
God, I wish. . .  
  
I realized I was staring at his chest area, and quickly snapped my gaze to the floor.  
  
'So, uh, Jesse, what do we do now? I mean, I didn't really understand what CeeCee's Aunt was going on about, so that was why I was kind of hoping that you at least were paying attention-'  
  
Yeah, so I was babbling. Nothing new. So he didn't have to start laughing like that!  
  
'Querida-' HE CALLED ME QUERIDA AGAIN! '-I have been thinking about it, and I have thought of a plan. I trust that you remember what their job in Egypt was?'  
  
'Uh. . . No, not really,' I muttered.  
  
He chuckled. 'They were scribes. You know what scribes were?'  
  
'Jesse, I'm not at freaking school, just tell me,' I snapped. Although I used a rather colourful alternative word for "freaking." Jesse blinked, and grinned again.  
  
'Scribes recorded history. They were like. . . reporters, you may say nowadays,' he smiled wryly. I rolled my eyes. '-but their history lasted forever. They wrote in hieroglyphics, and so, I am assuming that they understand them. So, all we have to do is communicate with them through hieroglyphics.'  
  
I stared at him.  
  
'Oh, so you're an expert on the Ancient Egyptian system of lettering?' I asked sweetly. And sarcastically.  
  
'Hardly. But I was just about to go and get a book on them-'  
  
'No need,' I said, struck by a fantastic brainwave, 'Internet.'  
  
'Oh, that's the thing with all the computers, isn't it?' asked Jesse carefully.  
  
'You are learning, young grasshopper,' I approved. 'But I can't get on the computer now, so-'  
  
'We'll figure out what we are going to say to them, write it down, print a copy of the hieroglyphic alphabet tomorrow, and I'll translate our message, ready to show them,' said Jesse, all professionally.  
  
I gawked at him.  
  
'Uh, okay,' I said, dazzling him with my wits.  
  
He smirked. 'It's simple. So, what exactly are we going to say to them?' This was a message for me to get a move on and plan our letter, so I grabbed out a piece of lined paper and one of my fluffy pink pens, (to which Jesse snorted,) and began to write.  
  
"Dead Egyptian people," I scribbled, my tongue hanging out slightly, "Why are you dead, what do you want, and what will it take for you to move on?"  
  
I handed it to Jesse, looking apprehensive. 'Okay?' I asked.  
  
'No,' he smiled. 'Give me the quill-'  
  
'It's called a pen, Jesse.'  
  
'Oh, ah, okay the pen.' I handed it to him. He stared at the furry feathers uncertainly, but shrugged. He began writing. I waited. He handed me the page once he had written for about a minute. I stared at the beautifully formed cursive along the page under my bubbly, round writing, with all the little love hearts and circles to dot the "I"s and "J"s. Oh, and even the full stops. It was a wonder he'd been able to read it.  
  
'Naeemah, Jafari, Amun and Khufu,' I read out loud, in a slightly mocking voice, 'Susannah is what your people call a shifter. She can see and communicate with the undead, and can move across the astral plane to purgatory. She wants to help you. Please write what is keeping you here on earth, and why you think you haven't already gone to your next life.'  
  
I snorted. I mean, it was good and all, but I wasn't going to give Jesse that satisfaction. He'd bagged my try, hadn't he?  
  
'What?' he asked defensively.  
  
'Oh, nothing,' I assured him sarcastically. 'It's absolutely fine.'  
  
His look darkened, and I decided to stop teasing. I don't like getting dark looks from Jesse. They are seriously scary. Oh, and plus the fact that I am deeply and utterly in love with the dude, and I don't want to get in his bad books, hey?  
  
'Jesse, it's good. Now what do we do?' I asked.  
  
'Wait until tomorrow,' he said. 'I'm going back to the rectory.'  
  
'But Jesse,' I said, hoping to catch him before he dematerialized.  
  
'Yes, Querida?' he asked, almost hopefully. Huh?  
  
'Listen, I-'  
  
'Yes?'  
  
I stared into those inky black eyes that seemed to drape me with a protective, warm feeling. His look was almost. expectant.  
  
And I didn't have the courage to tell him the truth.  
  
'I wanted to say sorry about that thing in the graveyard,' I said, shaking my head. 'I was being stupid.'  
  
Whoa. His face, like, totally collapsed. Like he was disappointed or something. I knit my eyebrows in confusion.  
  
'Being stupid,' he repeated dully, and then nodded. 'It's okay. It wasn't your fault. I was, ah- being stupid, also. Please forgive me?'  
  
'Of course.'  
  
'And Querida?'  
  
'Mmm?'  
  
'Sweet dreams. . .' This wish for my sleep to be peaceful was accompanied by a very rewarding action.  
  
He kissed me!  
  
Okay, don't get excited, it was on the hand. But hey, I'm not complaining! I smiled graciously.  
  
And obligingly, I had very sweet dreams. All of which contained the very same sweet guy. 


	9. What's the matter with me?

'So, CeeCee, you're looking particularly neurotic yourself,' I commented upon seeing my albino friend with a flushed face, and even a hint of -gag- lip-gloss! She was dead set against it! I almost had to double take to make sure I wasn't imagining things, but it sure as hell was there.  
  
'Webb, what the hell are you wearing?'  
  
Kelly Prescott's best friend, Debbie Mancuso, had also noticed CeeCee's decision to apply gunk to her face. Because, I realized, upon second inspection, that lip-gloss wasn't the only thing that CeeCee had put on.  
  
The full works.  
  
A thin layer of foundation, a shade darker than her own pale skin colour, was stretched expertly across her face. Her eyes were outlined subtly, bringing out the purple of her contacts to perfection. Her hair was in a pony tail, but when she turned her head, I realized that she's gone all out, and had curled it. Her lips, although glossy, were coated with a gentle shade of ice pink, and just above her eyes, was the same colour eye shadow. A haze of light crimson rouge gave her the "flushed" look.  
  
She looked stunning!  
  
'Geez, Webb, who the hell are you trying to impress?' asked Kelly, rather coldly, eyeing CeeCee's outfit. It was this gorgeous black slip dress, with the skirt going safely below the knees, and a casual cowl neck. Her mules were pretty flashy too.  
  
'Whoa,' I said. CeeCee never dressed like this. Ever. Not even at school dances. She was always the oddball, or the one to come in an artfully ripped new age dress, or a rainbow sari, if the occasion arose. But never . . . nice.  
  
'Whoa.'  
  
Adam had turned up. He was gawking at CeeCee's new demeanour. CeeCee eyed him anxiously. It was obvious that this whole change of image had been for him.  
  
Adam's lips curved into a happy smile. 'You look great,' he said, sliding an arm around her shoulders playfully.  
  
'Thanks,' she said, and they walked off. I could not stop staring. And neither could Kelly.  
  
'What's with them?' she wanted to know. 'Freaks getting together?'  
  
I narrowed my eyes.  
  
'I mean, if she thinks that dress suits her, she'd better think again. Black only suits. . . well, normal people,' she said expressively, looking at me, scandalized.  
  
I glared.  
  
'And, what exactly, is CeeCee?' I asked coldly, cutting her off with a ' And don't say albino. That isn't a human category. You were saying?'  
  
Kelly blinked at me.  
  
'She's albino.'  
  
She said it! The bitch made it out like CeeCee was some specimen of canine feces.  
  
'I still don't believe that someone of your status would want to be friends with that-'  
  
WHAM.  
  
I know, hasty of me. But hey, I was pissed, okay? I mean, no one goes around, pouring crap on my best friend (in Carmel)!  
  
'OOOH! OGH! SUZE!' she shrieked. The whole cafeteria went silent. It was a big day when Kelly Prescott got assaulted. That was why everyone had been talking about Paul's big dissing thing. I was staring at the honey blond coldly when she staggered to her feet again. I hadn't punched her. No, bitch slapping seemed much more contenting. I mean, if you don't bitch slap a bitch, who do you slap? Unless they call it the bitch slap because the clapper is the bitch.  
  
Namely me, I guess.  
  
So, it couldn't have hurt that much. But, today was a day I saw a side of Kelly Prescott I'd never had the pleasure (sarcasm) to see before. There I was, panting in weird satisfaction, when she launched herself at me!  
  
I couldn't believe it! Pigs do fly. Because that was certainly what she did.  
  
'How DARE you humiliate me!' she screamed in my face. Tugging at my hair. I'm not one to have my heart tugged at, let alone touched, and react all quietly. Oh, no. I give it back, all right. I rolled her over on the floor, and, not too hard, her being a weakling, twisted her arm behind her back. 'Maybe this'll teach you that you opinions are not wanted everywhere, Kell. Sometimes we have to learn to keep our mouths SHUT!' That word was accompanied by a vicious twist of her honey blond locks. She howled. The kids had gathered around us, looking fascinated. Doc was shaking his head angrily at me. Dopey was watching eagerly, with Debbie clinging to him, as if she was watching a really scary movie in the cinemas. (Of course, if the two of the had been in the cinema, I would bet that the scary movie would be quiet forgotten.) Kelly's mascara was running down her face. I realized that she's had enough. That was when I saw the barreling bosom of Sister Ernestine advancing on us, so I allowed Kelly to give me a hearty slap, for the purpose of incrimination. I overdramatized, and flung myself back a meter, just as the thick-skinned nun's shadow fell upon us.  
  
She was SPITTING!  
  
'W-W-What is the MEANING of this?!' she screeched, hauling Kelly and myself up by our collars. (Which was kind of hard, seeing as Kelly was wearing a really, really low top, and had no collar.)  
  
'Kelly started it,' I said, pretending to look like, half-awake. You know, as if Kelly had given me concussion or something. Hehehe, I'm evil some times.  
  
'Is this true?' demanded the Sister. Her tone was do deadly and murderous, that I felt my body shrink within my skin.  
  
'N-N-No . . . Suze-ah, whacked me,' said Kelly through tears. I mean, what a BABY!  
  
'She insulted me in ways you cannot imagine,' I said seriously.  
  
'I didn't insult you! I insulted CeeCee Webb!' she cried indignantly, but promptly clapped her hand to her mouth. I grinned triumphantly. To my surprise, so did our Mission Sister.  
  
'A confession, Miss Prescott?' she asked with a fierce pride. 'That'll be a detention, most likely. And you,' she rounded on me. 'With a detention already for breaching our dress code, this is not a good week for you, is it, Miss Simon?'  
  
She could say that again.  
  
'Father Dominic's office, the pair of you!' she shrilled, giving us a small shove towards the office of Father D.  
  
'Sorry,' I said. What?! Why the hell was I apologizing? Mmm, I guess being in love with a Latino of ultimate hotness can do this to you.  
  
She didn't answer, but was, instead looking straight ahead at her, with a kind of terrified look on her face.  
  
I looked up too and . . . oh, crap.  
  
Paul Slater was back.  
  
I stood there, gaping at him. At his tall, mysterious, evil demeanour, the dark curls that toppled down his forehead in this totally cute way, (yes, even I have to admit that,) and the eyes that seemed to drill holes in me. Because that's where he was looking.  
  
At me.  
  
And by God, he looked cheery about something. I didn't think there was anything to be cheery about, personally. His face cracked into this huge, sexy grin when he saw me, and so I kind of pulled Kelly by the arm, into the nearest classroom.  
  
'Kelly, I know you don't really like me at the moment, but I really don't think you should speak to Paul, let alone ask him out, okay?' I said in one breath. She stared at me.  
  
'Why do you care?' she asked. 'I mean, just because everyone thinks he has a mental problem, I think he was only drunk that time at your brother's party. (A/N: From "Haunted," or, if you're an Aussie like me, "Grave Doubts.") And get your arm off me, Simon! God,' she yanked her arm away. I realized that I'd been holding it in a pincer-like grip, and her usually pale arm had a bright pink shadow along the top, a result of my forceful hand.  
  
'Sorry, Kell.' I took a deep breath. Not fair! How long were suspensions supposed to last? It had only been, what, a week? He told a novice to . . . well, I'M not going to repeat what he suggested. Geez, I do have some dignity. But hey, I was so pissed off . . .  
  
The door burst open. Damn, he saw where I'd gone. Kelly beamed sarcastically at me, and was all like, 'Well. I'll just, er, leave you two alone to, ah . . . catch up?' And she was outa there like she was being chased by a stampede of elephants. Coward.  
  
I turned to Paul. 'I don't' know about you, but I SO don't feel like talking,' I said, avoiding those unfathomable, icy eyes that were leering at me so. I kind of shivered, and tried to get to the door, but he was too quick for me.  
  
'I don't think so,' he said, catching my arm, and yanking me back, so hard that I fell. I squealed and looked up at him with fear from the cold tiles.  
  
'What the HELL was that for?!' I exploded, scrambling to my feet. He grinned at me. Again, I went for the door, but this time, he- get this- DEMATERIALIZED, and MATERIALIZED back into view in front of THE DOOR!  
  
'Holy freaking mother of God.' I swore forcefully, stumbling back onto a desk. I shook my head at him.  
  
'What ARE you?!' I wanted to know. My voice was going way too high for my liking, but seriously, this was too much!!!  
  
'Well, I've been practicing some new moves,' he said, looking at me suggestively. Why did that not sound good? At all?!  
  
This was WAY major mind overload. I mean, come on, it was 8.55am, it was too early for Oh-look-I-can-materialize-wherever-I-want-now-because-I'm- super-shifter Paul Slater. I clutched my head, and he started laughing. Oh, God . . .  
  
'That's not all I can do, Suze,' he said, chuckling at my reaction. I just gaped at him.  
  
'I'm outa here,' I said, 'I have to go and see-'  
  
But by then, he'd like, totally materialized right in front of me, and had jammed an arm on each side of the desk, trapping me. Geez, his face was close. Oh, shit, this was bad. I mean, I was really getting scared now.  
  
'So, Suze. How come you didn't turn up to your shifter lesson yesterday?' he asked wryly, his breath reeking of Colgate minty freshness.  
  
I shuttered something, I'm not sure what it was. Why was I so scared? Was he noticing?  
  
Shit, yeah.  
  
'Geez, Simon, chill,' he said, stroking the side of my face so gently. I began to shiver. Should I call Jesse? No. Well, at least not yet, I didn't want to be the prime suspect for homicide.  
  
'P-P-Paul,' I managed to choke out, 'I, ah . . . I thought you were suspended.'  
  
Oh, yeah, Suze great conversation starter. So witty of you . . .  
  
Well, that was the point, wasn't it? I didn't want to have a conversation with him. But why was I being such a dork? My mouth opened and closed several times, till I just decided to keep it closed. What was GOING ON?  
  
'Suze, are you all right?' he asked, frowning. 'I mean, I knew you wouldn't exactly jump at seeing me, but seriously, it takes a lot to render you speechless.' Okay, he was getting way close now. I mean, we're talking millimeters! My eyes went fuzzy.  
  
I blacked out.  
  
A/N: No, I'm not making Suze out to be weak, something's happened to her. Keep reviewing, luv yooz all! 


	10. The freaky, FREAKY dream

Oooh, crap, were the first two words that popped up in my head upon regaining consciousness. Well, I thought I did. But . . . I could hear something, like . . . crackling fire? Oh, crap! Had I, like, knocked over a candle, and the whole school was up in flames, and I was already dead, but now a ghost? If so, maybe now I could be with Jesse? But, no. I couldn't smell smoke, or anything. Can ghosts even smell? I decided to like, open my eyes, to eliminate other possible situations.  
  
OH.  
  
MY.  
  
GOD.  
  
'Ahhhhhhhh!' I screamed. And screamed, and screamed, and SCREAMED. Let me tell you, it's no picnic finding yourself in a leopard skin draped, pleated linen dress, with this huge headdress on my . . . brace yourself . . . BLACK hair!!!  
  
AHHHHH!  
  
I looked around frantically, and saw that everything was in black and white. I was in a dark, enclosed room, with limestone bricks imprisoning me. I felt like I was suffocating me. Along the walls were flaming torches. But the thing that most caught my eyes were the piles and PILES of gold! Little sarcophaguses, columns of coins, golden sphinx figurines! I realized where I was about then.  
  
I was in a tomb.  
  
An EGYPTIAN TOMB, by the way?  
  
Sweet Mother of the Lord freaking Jesus!  
  
What, was I supposed to by, like, some dead Egyptian pharaoh? They knew I was alive, right?!  
  
Of course they did. Otherwise, I would be mummified.  
  
How reassuring.  
  
I bolted to the door of the tomb. Wait, what door? That wasn't a door! It was just wall! Where's the door? I could by claustrophobic, for all they know. Oh, I'm going to die in an Ancient Egyptian world of black and white. Goodbye, cruel-  
  
Wait! A vent. Well, it looked like a vent, leading upwards. I decided to climb it, you never know, I might be able to get out of this gay place.  
  
Let me tell you, it's no pushover climbing upwards. In a kalasiris! Well, I think that's what they were called, these robe thingamabobs. Oh, I was in deep shit, and God, did I know it. After about half an hour of continuous climbing- I kid you not! Half an hour! I can't even RUN the school runathon for that long!- I kind of fell out of the vent, (which still lead upwards,) into another chamber. This one, on the other hand, had people in it.  
  
I'm serious.  
  
All around me were these freaky people wearing freaky, Egyptian clothes, with bald heads, headdresses, feathers, head bands over the hair of the guys who still had some, braids to the side, loin cloths, more kalasiris', and gee, intense looking Egyptian eyes. A bit slanted, and glaring. I backed away slightly.  
  
'Pharaoh,' said one. Another thing occurred to me, you know?  
  
I COULD UNDERSTAND EGYPTIAN!!!  
  
Hold it right there!  
  
That dude just called me PHARAOH!  
  
'Holy *fuck,' I said feverishly, and under the circumstances, you can totally understand, right? RIGHT?!?!  
  
They all stared at me some more. 'I thought you were sleeping?' asked one. I just shook my head. They thought I was permanently sleeping, more like it.  
  
I suddenly realized what an odd scene I'd walked in on. There were four people lying in these stone tables, looking quiet still. Their faces were pasty white. I mean, even though I was seeing black and white, I could so tell that their skin tone was abnormally white. Like CeeCee.  
  
'Who are they?' I asked. But then I knew. These four people were scribes, going by the names of Naeemah, Jafari, Khufu and Amun.  
  
Oh God.  
  
Why me?  
  
'These are our scribes, Naeemah, Jafari, Khufu and Amun,' a dude echoed my thoughts, wearing but a little cloth thing, and a braid down the side of his head, whereas the rest of his head was bald and shiny. This was way overwhelming. Was I drunk? Or high? Did Paul slip me some disco biscuits while I was out?  
  
'Oh, why aren't they moving?' I asked blankly.  
  
'Well, Pharaoh,' said a woman uncomfortably, 'They're dead.'  
  
Dead.  
  
'Oh, right,' I said, nodding. 'Uh, why are they here?'  
  
'Well, their families have paid for a shifter to come for them,' explained the woman. My ears hell perked up then.  
  
'Shifter?' I asked.  
  
Everybody frowned. I guess it would be real weird if the chic who's supposed to order you around was acting all daft, or as if she'd had an attack of amnesia.  
  
I wish.  
  
'Shifters accompany the souls of the dead to the next world,' said the woman patiently. Then, there was an echoing of stone on stone.  
  
'Oh, he's here,' said the woman.  
  
You bet he was. This guy was dead ringer for an older- much older- version of Paul. Geez, if Paul was going to look like this when he was older, he'd better start praying. Or, maybe it was just all the black.  
  
'Here,' he said. In Egyptian, of course, but of course, I could understand. 'Now, where are the ones to be shifted?'  
  
'Well, obviously, there,' I said. He looked at me sharply, with dark, black eyes, rather than Paul's icy ones. I mean, what kind of question is that? There are four freaking dead people lying in front of him!  
  
'Pharaoh,' he said, bowing briefly. 'It is my honour to serve you, my Pharaoh. I hope I will-'  
  
'Just get it over with!' I said. Geez, you'd think I was about to have a needle, and the nurse was explaining exactly what she was going to do, like, "First, I'm going to push it into your skin, and it's going to be excruciating. Then you're going to feel the awful liquid swimming all over your arm, like I just injected poison into you . . ." You get the idea. Shudder.  
  
'I must ask you all to leave,' he said, with an identical smirk to Paul's. Everyone tramped out except me.  
  
'I'm not going anywhere,' I said defiantly. 'I wish to oversee this process, and you will not disobey your pharaoh,' I said severely, and he kind of looked at me in surprise.  
  
'But-'  
  
Then, suddenly, there was a kind of internal feeling. I shouldn't be screwing around here. I had to do as everyone else was doing, or I might have stopped what had to be.  
  
'On second thought, I'd better go,' I said hastily. Why am I such a loser? Why? Sigh.  
  
He turned from me, and, quiet as a mouse, I slipped back into the vent, to listen. Paul's wannabe closed the door, and turned to the four corpses. I peaked out from the vent, my knuckles were shining white.  
  
He said this weird incantation, and all, and then, collapsed. Something occurred to me. It was my guess he had gone to purgatory. If so, the ghosts would have most likely been in this room. Why couldn't I see them? Wasn't I a mediator anymore?  
  
Weird.  
  
And another: Didn't CeeCee's Aunt Pru say that Dr. Oliver Slaski thought that this shifter dude was related to him? That would mean that Paul was also related to him, seeing that Paul's last name Slater, was changed from Slaski by his father. So, I was seeing some ancient ancestor of Paul Slater here now. One Paul was enough!  
  
That was when I heard the voices. In my head, not coming from the black and white room before the vent I was hiding in.  
  
"Aaah, the last four I'll need."  
  
"What do you mean? Aren't you the shifter?" Naeemah's voice.  
  
"Yes. But I'm so much more than that. I plan to be pharaoh by killing the current one."  
  
Ah! He's going to kill me! No, wait, I was starting to work this out. I was in Tutankhamun's time, history was just altering around me. So basically, I was playing the Tutankhamun dude. Hey! No wonder why he died so young! This bad ass killed him! I'm so smart!  
  
"What are you doing? Where are we?" Jafari's voice.  
  
"This is the Shadowland. You have no need to fear. All you have to do is walk through that door."  
  
"Why should we?" Amun.  
  
"You will go to your next life."  
  
"How can we trust you. You just told us that you were going to murder our pharaoh!" Khufu, sounding angry.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Fools! You don't understand! You were going to be the last four lost souls to help me gain the kingdom above! Go through that door, or you will suffer!"  
  
"Never!" That was the Egyptian four, all together.  
  
"You will pay!"  
  
Then, the most horrible shrieking roared in my mind. I was screaming too. It was so painful! Oh, God! But no, that wasn't all!  
  
"No, you are the fool!" Go Naeemah! "For this, you will pay. May Bastet, our sacred God of cats, punish this evil fiend! Make him suffer for all eternity! Make him live, until our true shifter destroys him!" screamed Naeemah, amid the roaring of the Egyptian four, as Paul's ancestor tortured them all. Oh, God, this was terrible! The screaming was killing me! And he was laughing. I felt like I my head was going to detonate.  
  
"Who are you?" roared . . . I think it was Jafari, this time.  
  
"Ramsis, my name is," he said.  
  
Geez, what a stupid name . . .  
  
"You evil, horrible man!" yelled Naeemah desperately. And again, they were being tortured! I couldn't stand it! That was when my fingers went like jelly. I slipped down the vent.  
  
'AHHHHHHHH!'  
  
Ka-ploomph.  
  
Well, thank God the screaming had stopped.  
  
'Suze! Wake up!'  
  
Huh?! 


	11. Aftermath of the vision

A/N: Uh, Fireblade K'Chona? Patience is a virtue. I'm writing as fast as I can, so you'll soon know WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED. Just, pipe down a bit with the reviews, they're freaking me out!  
  
Thanks to everyone. I hope you are enjoying this, as much as I like writing it. I know it isn't the best story ever, (cough! Far from,) but it's also my first. Thanks for the reviews so far.  
  
**************************************************************************** **********  
  
Huh?!  
  
I sat up, very slowly, and all of a sudden, an extreme pain shot through the front of my head, just behind my eyes. My ears were still ringing from the screaming, and my throat was hoarse, as if I had been screaming also. I realised that there were hands touching me. I blinked my eyes open.  
  
I saw those same eyes that had tortured the Egyptian four, except that these ones were light as ice. They were staring right into mine with concern.  
  
I turned my head slightly, and there was Jesse, holding me up. I was still in that classroom. I was lying on the floor, supported upwards by Jesse, and Paul was leaning over me. This was incredibly weird, as these two, on their second last encounter, had attempted to, more or less, kill each other. But here they were, working together to get me awake. Is my life finally starting to look upwards?  
  
Not a hope.  
  
'Get your hands off of her, Slater,' snarled Jesse, tugging me towards him more. Ow, kind of knocked my head a bit.  
  
'Well, just pointing out that it will look a little strange if someone sees Suze leaning on thin air,' said Paul coldly, jerking me to a standing position.  
  
'What happened, Querida?' asked Jesse, pulling me back to him. I went all mushy with warm fuzzies. Did you guys hear that? Jesse called me Querida! Why did I feel like I was drunk?  
  
'What's wrong, Suze?' asked Paul.  
  
'Hangover,' I slurred, and he laughed, making Jesse tense. He let go of me guardedly. 'Uh, guys? I'd really appreciate it if I could, you know, lie down? My head is kind of killing me.'  
  
'Of course, they said in unison, and both tried to pick me up, resulting in them kind of bashing into each other when I stepped back. It was pretty funny, so I started giggling. Really hysterically.  
  
Hey, I'd just had a premonition, okay?!  
  
I told them so. They both scrambled up, and carefully set me in a chair, one guy on either side. It was really weird, the three of us hear. Here was me, head over heels for Jesse, and there was Paul, head over heels for me. And Jesse was just here out of obligation, most likely.  
  
Damn.  
  
'What was it about?' asked Jesse. I told him a very edited version, not wanting to let Paul know about the four ghosts, or Ramsis, but I said it was in Ancient Egypt.  
  
'Well, that wasn't a premonition, then,' said Paul matter-of-factly.  
  
'It wasn't?'  
  
'No. Premonitions allow you to see the future. That was seeing the past, unless you managed to drag back an entire empire into the present,' he drawled, an elegant eyebrow arched up.  
  
Jesse's eyes narrowed.  
  
'Well, why am I so dizzy?' I asked Paul.  
  
'It happens when you See,' he said. 'See?'  
  
'Yes. Some shifters can do it, but not all. If you are thinking about something hard enough, you will be able to replay the scene of reality before your mind's eye, regardless of time, place, or person. It has something to do with the astral-'  
  
'I think we've heard enough,' interrupted Jesse, hauling me to my feet. I stumbled into his arms, and he wrapped a protective arm around my cold shoulders.  
  
'Just to think, you could have learnt that all at your shifter lessons,' said Paul with a Machiavellian smile.  
  
My blood went cold, and Jesse's embrace froze. He grabbed my shoulders with his strong hands, drew me away from him, and locked me with a hard gaze.  
  
'Shifter lessons?' he repeated. 'You're taking . . . shifter lessons? With Slater?' His eyes looked so outraged! Oh, God, how was I going to explain this one. I knew what was coming. I'd have to say, "but I did it to save you," and he'd be all, "I'm nothing to save. I'm a ghost, whereas you are, last time I checked, quite alive!"  
  
I'm so dead.  
  
'Jesse, it's not-'  
  
'Susannah, we're going home. I think you have a lot of explaining to do?' he said coldly.  
  
Damn me! Why do I always end up in the shit? And in the shit with Jesse? I mean, I know lovers are supposed to fight, but I wasn't even sure if he loved me yet, so we weren't classed as lovers yet, and he had no right to order me around!  
  
'I'm staying at school,' I said. 'I need to talk to Father Dominic.' I don't usually call Father D that, but I wanted to sound as official as possible.  
  
'I'm coming too, then-'  
  
'You most certainly are not, Jesse!' I shrilled, and pushed him away from me. 'I don't need to be protected 24/7. At all, even. I can take care of myself, and besides, what's there to be protected from?'  
  
His eyes wandered to Paul, who grinned knowingly.  
  
'Relax, De Silva. Your precious "querida" ' he made finger quotations, 'is safe with me.'  
  
Jesse so did not trust Paul. Neither did I, but I gave Jesse this huge hug and all, and whispered so quietly into his ear, 'if I need you, I'll call, okay?'  
  
Again, he pulled me away, and stared at me, as if trying to figure me out.  
  
'All right,' he answered, 'But I swear to God, if he-'  
  
'Yes,' I snapped.  
  
Paul lead me out of the classroom, adding to Jesse's (and my own) discomfort when he slid his arm around my waist.  
  
~*~  
  
'Get your arm off,' I said coldly, and Paul chuckled, retreating.  
  
'Yes, my pharaoh,' he teased, and walked away. My head was still throbbing, and seeing Paul and Jesse fight did not have the same affect as an Aspirin would have.  
  
'Hey, Father D,' I said, slipping into the old guy's office.  
  
Whoa!  
  
'Father Dom!' I said, bewildered 'Are you crying?!'  
  
And smoking. He was inhaling long and hard on a cigar. Yes, not a pissy cigarette, but a CIGAR! Oh my God!  
  
'Father DOM!' I said, and snatched it away, 'What the hell is up with you?'  
  
He looked at me with sad forget-me-not blues, and sighed.  
  
'Oh, it doesn't mean anything to you,' he said sadly. Great. So the old guy has got a problem. I have way too many problems right now, and I didn't need another one. I usually wouldn't leave him like this, but I decided to rush straight into my dilemmas first.  
  
~*~  
  
'. . . and Father D, I was a PHARAOH!' I finished. 'And this Ramsis guy is supposedly still alive. How is that possible?'  
  
He ran a slightly wrinkled hand through his snowy white hair tiredly. Poor guy. I feel for him, I really do, I just didn't want to hear about someone else's problem right now, as then it would most likely become MY problem.  
  
'It is feasible,' he answered dully. 'Immortality isn't actually authentic, but I don't think that this is that. It's more likely an Egyptian curse that this man cannot escape from until. . . what did you say would kill him?'  
  
'Uh, I forget. I think until the true shifter for the Egyptian four-' (I'd affectionately named them that,) '- comes, mediates them properly, and kills him. That's what I figured, anyway.'  
  
He closed his eyes. I noticed that his hand was skimming, not on his CIGAR packet, but around the edges of a sheet of yellowing paper, making the edges curl. Don't you hate it when you fiddle with paper absent-mindedly, and you end up, I dunno, tearing little holes randomly all over the page? It annoys me when I've got a great bit of homework, and then I get distracted, and five minutes later when I look at it, it's in shreds! But . . . Father D kept reading this, so I don't think that he was fidgeting absent-mindedly.  
  
I tried to discretely read the page, but he noticed my wandering eyes, and stuffed it into his desk. I suddenly remembered that he's done this the last time I'd seen him.  
  
To the same piece of paper!  
  
Oh, God.  
  
'Father D, what was that?' I demanded, pointing at the draw where the page now lay.  
  
'Huh? Oh, just an enrollment form.'  
  
'Must be old, it's yellowed,' I commented, and his eyes shrank.  
  
He decided to change the subject, and seeing as how he was so against talking about it, I chose not to push anything.  
  
'Susannah, what are you going to do about this?' asked the Mission Principal.  
  
'Well, I dunno. Is there a picture of him, so I can exorcise him?' I asked.  
  
'I highly doubt that.'  
  
'Okay then . . . maybe I can just like, go to the zoo, and see if there's any bad ass animals there, and try to, I dunno, force him to show himself?' I suggested.  
  
He snorted. Yes, snorted.  
  
'That is like looking for a needle in a haystack,' he said, staring at me like I was crazy. He could talk, couldn't he!  
  
'Well, what do you suggest then?' I snapped. I mean, really.  
  
'I . . . I don't know.' Then, his vague look became sharper, as if he had thought of something. Oh, no, not thought of something, remembered something. 'You hit Kelly Prescott today, Susannah,' he scowled. I bit my lower lip. Damn.  
  
'Well, I was provoked,' I said simply.  
  
He groaned. 'You know violence is not the answer, Susannah. Especially not for the living. I understand that your, ah, physical methods can be somewhat handy in mediation, but to attack Miss Prescott-'  
  
'God,' I rolled my eyes. 'She's got you groveling over her now too, aye?' I stood up. 'Okay, it was lovely chatting, Father D. I really have to go. Jesse wants to yell at me. See ya.'  
  
'Susannah, do not try anything dangerous,' he warned loudly. 'If you think of I plan, consult me FIRST. Do you understand?' he asked, and glared at me expectantly.  
  
'Yes,' I sighed.  
  
More like, "yeah, sure, whatever. No." 


	12. The First and Worst Shifting Lesson

A/N: Please keep reviewing, guys. This chapter is a little weird, but still good. Another one on it's way, too.  
  
**************************************************************************** ***********  
  
Whoa, what a day. First, I smack Kelly Prescott. Then, I black out in front of Paul Slater. Then, I have an Ancient Egyptian premonition- no, a "Sighting." Then, I wake up to a pair of bickering boys. Then, CeeCee marches up to me, and yells at me for defending her. Adam comes up to me after her, and whispers his congratulations for thumping Kelly. Then, Paul grabs me in the hallway, and tells me that we have a shifter lesson after school, and accompanies this little message with an attempted kiss. I say attempted, because I hell punched him in the stomach. Even more unfortunately, a novice caught me and gave me a detention. I had to defend myself by saying that, once again, I was provoked, and so she let me off with a warning.  
  
I mean, seriously! One day!  
  
I need a holiday . . .  
  
~*~  
  
Paul, unfortunately, had remembered about our lessons. He was waiting for me in his sleek convertible, his eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. His lips were curved into a faint, impish smile, one that made my stomach stiffen. I closed my eyes, said a quick prayer for my safety, and slid in the car. Yes, I said a prayer. No, I'm not getting all religious, it went something like this: "If there is a God, you'd better protect me from this bastard, or I'll kick your cloudy ass to the fiery pits of hell."  
  
Amen.  
  
Hey, I'm not exactly known for my shouts of faith.  
  
'Paul, I swear to God, you'd better keep your hands to yourself this time for real, or you are so dead,' I snarled, clicking in my seat belt. Did I really want to do this again? I mean, seriously, last time, I'd not only been sexually harassed, but had been impeded in my attempts to flee from his property. Was I ready to put myself in this position again? Oh, God, oh God . . .  
  
'Suze, would you relax,' he groaned. 'Seriously, this is strictly a shifter lesson.'  
  
'Wasn't last time?' I asked, my voice going high. His car roared into life, and I shrank in my seat. The breeze was whipping behind the window, blowing my hair into an unattractive frizz. Oh, how bloody charming.  
  
'No, that was the . . . introductory course,' he said with a grin.  
  
'Well, I want a refund.'  
  
He snorted, and lazily put an arm around my shoulders. 'Remember, if you back out now, Suze, Rico Suave won't be too happy with you.'  
  
'On the contrary-'  
  
'Oh, yes. Of course, he doesn't want you to have anything to do with me,' he corrected himself. 'Well, I meant to say he won't be very happy in the Shadowland, as you call it. Or further.'  
  
I turned to him sharply. 'What?'  
  
His grin widened evilly. 'That's right. Purgatory isn't the worst. That's just where I prefer to send 'em.'  
  
I gaped at him.  
  
'Let me out of this stinking car now, Paul,' I hissed, shoving his arm off my shoulder. 'Or, I guarantee you, I'll-'  
  
He chuckled, and quite the reverse of stopping, sped up.  
  
I gulped. I mean, who was I to try and fight him in a car? I remembered quite clearly the last near-death car experience I'd had, involving two brothers, one alive, and one, very dead.  
  
Again, I closed my eyes. 'Shit, shit . . .' I whispered under my breath.  
  
'Suze,' he asked, 'Why are you scared of me?'  
  
'Am not,' I snapped.  
  
'Are too.'  
  
'Am not'  
  
'Are too.'  
  
'Am n-' I broke off. This was so going to last forever, because, seriously, Paul was just about as stubborn as me.  
  
I looked down at my feet, making sure for the twentieth time that day that I was wearing my Aerosoles. I was . . . okay, that's good. This time, if you run, you can easily run away, and also, you'd tactfully remembered to nick CeeCee's cell phone. Sure, she was going to kill you, but it was worth it.  
  
I was thinking all of this, when I realized that Paul had stopped at his waterfront house in Scenic Drive. Instantly, the memories of last time came streaming back. Oh, and did they ever hurt.  
  
I took a deep breath, and swung open my door. Hopping out, a took in the huge glass house on the cliff, overlooking Carmel's beach, when I turned to Paul, all, "Oh, I think we should do this in the library, you know? It'd be better, because then-'  
  
'Simon,' he drawled, grabbing my arm as I attempted to get back in the car, 'Chill.'  
  
It's easy for him to say. He wasn't in any danger to be sexually harassed. Oh, no, I can quite keep control of myself at all times, and seriously, if I tried to kiss him, and he didn't like it, I'd be burnt to a crisp, I'm sure.  
  
I saw Paul smile.  
  
Yeah, so I followed him up to his house. The Toyota Celia wasn't there today. But I'm sure that just because the, um, day attendant wasn't there, that Mr Slater- I mean, Dr. Slaski was there. And he'd, I dunno, help me fight Paul if he did anything, uh, mean, right?  
  
Yeah, Suze, and Eminem's going to be ordained a priest tomorrow.  
  
Once in his room again, blue as it was, with the king-size bed almost beckoning, I almost hyperventilated. But not quite, thank God. I perched myself coolly on one of his top-line ergonomically designed computer chairs, but kept my bag in arms reach. I smiled sarcastically at Paul as he went to sit on the end of the bed again, pulling out that box containing all his shifter stuff.  
  
I kind of choked on my own spit when he pulled out that thesis, noticing how, uh, crumpled it was. My heart rate began to increase again. Oh, God. Why am I here? He's probably only going to talk a whole bunch of bullshit to me, there's no point-  
  
-Oh yes there is. Shut up.  
  
I relaxed a little as I realized that this was the beginning to discovering about mediators for real. I mean, come on. You don't get offered this opportunity every day. And I'd done everything within my power to prevent any unwanted scenarios, so I was fine.  
  
'Okay, Suze, what do you want to start on?' asked Paul, leaning one hand on his bed, messing up the silky covers only slightly. I bit my lip, and was all, 'Uh, well, I don't really know much about any of it, so can you give me, like, some options?'  
  
'Sure. Okay, we can start with Seeing, Materialization, Ghost Calling, Barriers, Soul Transference, Shifting, Mind Reading, Life Draining, Controlling, K-'  
  
'Life Draining?' I asked uncomfortably, squeezing my fingers in my hands.  
  
'Oh, that's a bit too much to start with, I think. You might get scared of yourself on the first day,' he smirked. Usually I would have persisted, and demanded him to tell me, but I really didn't like the sound of it at all.  
  
'Go on with the options,' I said.  
  
He grinned, resting back on the bed. 'Oh, there's Telekinesis, Possession, Telepathy, Physical Substitution-'  
  
'What's that?' I asked curiously.  
  
He chuckled. 'Yes, the name is intriguing. However, shifters cannot so this to themselves. Nah, only to other shifters or mediators. You want to me tell you about that?' he asked.  
  
'Uh, I guess,' I was my superior witticism.  
  
He sat up, and walked over to the window. I noticed the way that the hairs on the nape of his neck were so incredibly fine, and how his ears sat to perfection, not sticking out like, say, Doc's do. How his arms were muscular, with visible tendons running from his broad shoulders right down to the stretch of his open hands. How his-  
  
SUZE, STOP IT ALREADY!  
  
I looked away, down at the gentle shade of blue that was his carpet. Geez, and I thought I was the height self-control. I couldn't even control my own thoughts.  
  
'Physical Substitution,' he began, turning to me, a mysterious look on his face, 'Is the act of swapping the external appearance of a shifter or mediator with a different form of any other living organism. While under the influence of this curse-like power, neither can die. It is like Soul Transference, except that that can only be done with a dead human being and a living one. The shifter who performs this action calls upon the only people who can undo it, and after their name is called upon, no one else can kill these two living things. It is very difficult to do, and the only way for the called upon shifter to free the trapped shifter or mediator is to-'  
  
'Whoa,' I interrupted. 'You sure know a lot, don't you.'  
  
He shrugged. 'You could say that. Now, where was I-'  
  
'Uh, Paul? I think that's enough on that. Can you move onto . . . uh, Materialization? That could be really handy.'  
  
'As you wish,' he grinned, taking a step closer to the window. Then, without warning, he dematerialized and materialized right in front of me! I mean, RIGHT in front. Like, leaning over the chair, centimeters away from my face in front!  
  
'Holy crap!' I exclaimed, sinking back into the chair to avoid his face. He grabbed my shoulders, and we dematerialized together. When we materialized again, we were, to my relief, still in his room and not in the Shadowland, as I had feared for a split second. However, the downside of this was that I was on his bed, and he was kind of lying on top of me.  
  
'Paul, what the hell are you doing?!' I yelled, as he kind of straddled me, on his knees. Serious! This was WORSE than last time already!  
  
'Showing you what a real shifter can do,' he breathed, and kissed my forehead.  
  
Oh, God, please, oh, please . . .  
  
"Come on, Simon. If you just chill out, you might actually enjoy this."  
  
HEY! He just talked to me through my mind! This was WAY wrong!  
  
'Get off-' I began, but he clapped a hand over my mouth. Crap!  
  
"Paul, you were just promising before you wouldn't give me any shit!" I exploded in my brain. I was sure he got the message by the way he winced and then grinned evilly. Oh, his eyes, they were like, burning red! This was bad, bad, bad, BAD!  
  
'I know,' he grinned, and bent down to kiss me on the lips. I thought he was just going to kiss his hand that was over my mouth for a moment, but in a swift movement, he repositioned his hand so it was painfully pushing my lips against his. Oh, this wasn't enjoyable! Not at all! I mean, if this had have maybe been Jesse, I might have at least liked it a bit, but I hate it when guys think that they can control everything.  
  
'How else was I going to get you here?' he asked. I thought that this was very strange, seeing as he had just shown an excellent example of Materialization, and could have materialized me here from anywhere. But I didn't voice this.  
  
Neither did I have to.  
  
'Yes, but it's much more fun luring you here,' he said.  
  
Whoa! He could read my mind! NOOOOOOOO!  
  
"Now, Mind Reading is different to Telepathy. Mind Reading is one way, Telepathy is two way, and can only happen between shifters and mediators-"  
  
"I don't give a fu-"  
  
Okay, he was getting really enthusiastic with his tongue about now, which is seriously gross. I went to slap him, but very remarkably, I couldn't move my arms. Desperation was burning within me, but I didn't know what to do. I mean, I couldn't move my arms, or- nope, not even my legs. Believe me, I tried. Harder than I have ever tried to do anything in my life. It was kind of like trying to pop my ears, or lifting up a seriously heavy pot plant, but WAY harder.  
  
"That's controlling," he explained, via Telepathy.  
  
So Paul just went on kissing me. I was like, (now that I could speak again,) 'Stop it, God dammit!' but he didn't. Stop it, I mean. And then, to my indignation, I saw him looking at my torso area very, very intensely. But it wasn't till I saw the buttons popping off my shirt, that I was seriously horrified.  
  
'Paul!' I yelled in revulsion, 'How the (insert colourful four letter word here) are you doing that?!'  
  
He tore his eyes away, and answered breathlessly, 'Telekinesis. Simple, really, once you get the hang of it. I'm giving you examples of things that a shifter can do, Suze, so pay attention.' Yeah, with a highly MA 15+THEME!  
  
Oh, my God. No FREAKING WAY!  
  
And that was when my top was kind of, like, ripped open. NOOO! WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! With a bang that gave me a heart attack, there was a kind of glowing red dome around the bed. That was when he moved back, grinning.  
  
I was so off that bed. I ran towards the glowing dome thingie-  
  
-Only to be blasted back onto the bed with such painful force, I screamed.  
  
'That's a Barrier,' he explained, pushing me back down by my shoulders. My heart was hammering against my ribcage so thoroughly I felt as though the bones would shatter. Dread was claiming me, as I knew what Paul was going to do . . .  
  
"JESSE! GET YOUR GHOSTLY ARSE HERE!" I screamed within my head.  
  
And I waited.  
  
And waited.  
  
But no show. Not a flicker, nothing!  
  
I released a woebegone cry, as Paul grabbed my wrists, and slammed them against the above pillow, pressing me harder against the bed, kissing me. EWW!  
  
I was utterly terrified. I'm not ashamed to say that, I mean, this was worse than all my dreams of the Shadowland, of all the other times that Paul had ever come near me, worse, even, than when I thought I'd lost Jesse. And that's saying something!  
  
He ran a hand down my stomach, and down my thigh. Oooh, not good. RAH! Away! Shoo!  
  
"JESSSSSSSSSSSSSSE!"  
  
'That slips in the "Ghost Calling" category of the shifter powers. I can not only call them, but forbid other mediators/shifters from calling them,' Paul said, sliding his hand behind my head, netting my hair between his fingers.  
  
This was SO past sexual harassment now. This was assault, wasn't it?  
  
'As a matter of fact, no, Simon. Assault counts as penetration,' he said, 'also known as rape, which I have no intention to do.' He did not just say that!!!!!  
  
"Thank God for that." I spat at him. "Paul I think I've had enough of a lesson for today."  
  
ForEVER more like it.  
  
'Ah, now Suze, don't be like that,' he warned angrily, 'After all, Mr De Silva's death is at stake, is it not?'  
  
I whimpered, and that was when the Barrier disappeared, and I gained full control over myself. He got off me at long last, rolling his eyes. I gaped at him, totally scandalized. Still gawking, I swooped up my bag, and ran for it. He didn't even stop me this time, or even send down a Biker Bob minion of his.  
  
'I'm never coming back, Paul!' I shouted at him.  
  
'You don't have a choice,' was his reply.  
  
And he was right. But I'd figure out something, anything . . . I had to!  
  
I ran down the pathway from his house. This was MAJOR déjà vu. I glared at his convertible. Oh, if only I knew how to drive, I'd so nick his car and crash it into the sea. Well, to crash a car, you don't exactly need to know how to drive, do you? I thought. Then I grinned. Yeah, if you haven't already guessed, he had foolishly left the keys in the ignition.  
  
Idiot.  
  
Do I jumped in there, turned the keys, relishing that moment when the engine roared with life, and pulled out of the drive.  
  
'Hey! HEY!'  
  
I looked up at the highest window, and saw Paul gawking at me in shock. Fueled by his astonishment, I sped down the road, to the cliff. I whipped out my hair lacky, and fitted it around the accelerator so it would keep going. Then I jumped out of the car, and watched in total bliss as it drove straight off the edge, plunging gloriously into the wild ocean below, smashing deafeningly on the jagged rocks.  
  
I ran back to Scenic Drive, mighty impressed with myself, and began to walk home. I didn't plan to walk all the way, just so I was far enough from Paul's house to avoid suspicious when I called Adam to come and pick me up. I didn't know his number, but sure as anything, all of his numbers, home, mother's cell number, father's cell number, summer house phone number, etc. would be keyed into CeeCee's phone. Another problem I would encounter was that CeeCee, sure as anything also, would be with him, and would realize that it was me who stole her cell phone. Ah, it was a sacrifice I had to make. But then, I could easily be all like, "hey, Cee? What do ya know, the funniest thing happened. You cell phone must have jumped from your backpack to MY backpack at school. What a coincidence, seeing as I needed it now, huh?"  
  
I was a dead woman.  
  
I was at the nearest Carmel mall, ready to call him, when a vaguely familiar voice interrupted me.  
  
'Susan? Is that you?'  
  
A/N: Who is it? And will he/she get his/her butt kicked for calling Suze that? Stay tuned. 


	13. Blast From the Past, and Doc's Secret

I whirled around to identify the speaker of that soft, husky voice. Imagine my surprise, when I saw-  
  
'Whoa! Tad, what the hell are you doing here?' I gasped.  
  
He grinned in wonder. 'Calm down, Suze. I'm here with my girlfriend.'  
  
'Oh, that's nice,' I smiled. Of course he has a girlfriend, Suze. Don't be so disappointed. Of course he wouldn't be wallowing in despair since he broke up with you.  
  
'I've been meaning to call you, to- you know, catch up,' he continued, leaning casually against a pole in front of the Computer Components shop. I nodded.  
  
'Right,' I said, 'Well, it was nice-'  
  
'Hey, you should know, I'm breaking up with my girlfriend tomorrow,' he said.  
  
Whoa! I blinked in shock. 'Okay, and why the hell should I know that?!'  
  
He grinned again. 'Well, I wanted to ask you out. My dad's gotten out of hospital, and he's, like, way better now. We owe you a lot, you know Susan.'  
  
Okay, that was REALLY pissing me off now.  
  
'Tad, it's Susannah,' I snapped. 'S-U-S-A-N-N-A-H.'  
  
His grin faltered slightly, but he was cool. 'Okay. Well, will you go out with me again? I'm sorry about last time, with my uncle, and all. I just-'  
  
'Tad,' I butted in awkwardly, 'Uh-'  
  
'Oh.' His face fell. 'You're going out with someone else.'  
  
'No, not exactly,' I said. 'But I like someone else, I guess.' Then, a thought occurred to me. This could be a very good way to give Paul a hint, you know.  
  
'Okay, I'll go out with you,' I smiled at him dazzlingly. His grin returned. It was a genuine one, this time. Then, his face fell.  
  
'Tad, can we go already?' asked a high, Kelly-Prescott-like voice.  
  
I turned around. There stood a girl with curly dark red hair. It was obviously dyed, but it was gorgeous! Oh, what I wouldn't give for hair like that. she looked like one of the chics from the Pantene ads. But her eyes had this annoying, sharp look about them.  
  
'Uh, Suze, this is Amber,' Tad rolled his eyes. I nodded.  
  
'Hi,' I said, holding out my hand for her to shake. She stared at it much in the same way that Kelly Prescott stares at Adam. I withdrew it, raising an eyebrow.  
  
'Your hospitality is astounding,' I tell her. Tad snorted.  
  
She looked at me, shocked that I'd just dissed her. She didn't look much like an Amber, if you know what I mean. I always picture 'Amber's to be blond and, well, nice.  
  
This one had to be the Kelly Prescott of RLS.  
  
'Hey, Suze, you need a ride somewhere?' asked Tad, and Amber glared at him. Wanting to annoy this bitch, I said, 'That'd be great.'  
  
'I'm not giving you a ride anywhere,' sneered Amber, crossing her arms in front of her chest huffily. I shrug.  
  
'I know. Tad is,' I said lightly. 'I mean, it's his car, right?'  
  
'Tad, how do you even know her?' demanded Amber, glowering at her soon-to- be ex.  
  
'Old girlfriend,' he explained. 'Now we're just friends. Haven't seen her for ages.' I thought that was exceedingly sweet of him. I smiled at Amber.  
  
Tap, tap.  
  
Huh?  
  
I turned around, saying, 'I'm kind of busy, wait-'  
  
But it was Bessie.  
  
Crap! If I talked to her, Amber and Tad would think I was a nut. But if I ignored Bessie, I might not be able to find out whom she wanted me to deliver a message to. Seeing as though my life was more important, I ignored her.  
  
'I just need to be dropped off home. I'm kind of stranded,' I tell Tad.  
  
'YOU HORRIBLE MEDIATOR! I COME TO YOU FOR HELP AND YOU PAY NO ATTENTION TO ME!' she yelled in my ear, jerking me backwards.  
  
'Whoa!' I shouted, landing painfully on the concrete. Tad rushed over to help me, but Bessie was pissed. She shoved him sideways, so he bashed his head against the brick wall, and dragged me up, tears in her eyes. Let me tell you, Amber wasn't getting the best view of things. She'd just seen a girl trip back for no reason, and a guy get flung a meter to the left by some unseen force. And now, said girl had been hauled upwards by thin air! Her face molded into a warped, horrified expression, and she ran, saying, 'Tad Beaumont, your ex-girlfriend is a freak!'  
  
And I didn't blame her, because she was right.  
  
Tad, I saw, had been knocked out. Oh, fabulous.  
  
I rounded on Bessie. 'Why the hell did you do that?!' I hissed at her so quietly, yet so dangerously. She lost her confidence, and began to cry.  
  
'I'm sorry,' she blubbered, tears dampening her midnight black hair, 'I've just been waiting for you to tell him-'  
  
'Wait,' I said. 'Who's "him" for a start?'  
  
She blinked at me. 'My love,' she said. 'The boy in the photograph I slipped in your brother's book.'  
  
'First of all, it's step-brother,' I retort, 'And second . . . that was you who did that?'  
  
'Certainly,' she said, and dematerialized.  
  
'Hey! Get back here!' I shout, but she didn't. I couldn't believe it! She'd rocked up again, and STILL didn't give me any names. What was it she wanted me to tell this dude anyway? Oh yeah, that the letter he found was bogus, and that she wasn't having an affair. Great, that was messy.  
  
'Uh, Suze? Could you give us a hand?' asked Tad, his eyes blinking several times in succession.  
  
~*~  
  
'So, it's been a while,' he said conversationally, as he pulled up into my driveway.  
  
'I guess.'  
  
'Suze?'  
  
'What?'  
  
'Uh . . . Why is your top unbuttoned?' he asked suddenly, with wide eyes.  
  
'Huh? Oh, crap!' I said, and went to button it, but Paul had done a very good job, and had actually pulled them right off! So now, here I was, with a bit of my bra visible to my ex-boyfriend.  
  
How graceful of me.  
  
'Uh, I was over my friend's house, and her, um, dog kind of bit my other one. So she gave me this, but didn't realize, that, ah, the buttons were missing,' I babbled. What a lie. But Tad didn't seem to mind. He wasn't even listening anymore. He was staring at my unbuttoned top, in fact. Then again, more at the bit of visible bra, rather than my actual top, if you know what I mean. I turned brusquely towards the window, folding half my top over the other, covering myself, and turned back to see him looking very embarrassed.  
  
'Sorry,' he said, 'Wasn't sure if you'd, like, lied about not seeing anyone.'  
  
I laughed hollowly. 'Trust me, I'm not going out with anyone,' I said, surprised at the bitterness in my voice.  
  
He edged closer to me in his seat. 'Remember last time I dropped you off here?' he asked with a sly smile. I nodded idly.  
  
That was when he repeated his past actions occurring in his luscious car, but this time, taking full advantage of my ripped top. He was kissing me and everything, with way more passion than my first kiss from him, which, ironically, had been my first kiss ever, when I saw something strange.  
  
'Tad,' I said.  
  
'What is it, Suze?' he asked, kind of annoyed that I wasn't responding much to him.  
  
'Uh, I have to get out now. It has nothing to do with this,' I assured him, 'but, kind of sisterly duty.'  
  
He frowned at me, and then leaned back over to his side of the car. 'Oh, right,' he said disappointedly.  
  
I was out of that car fast, let me say. Not because I didn't like Tad, but because I think I'd just found out the reason why Doc had been late to dinner all those nights ago.  
  
Marching into the house, I bolted up to Doc's room. His door was locked. Obviously . . .  
  
'DAVID!' I yelled, breaking open his door. It was worse than I had imagined.  
  
'SUZE!' he yelled, and I heard a scream. He was lying in his bed, with his sheets kind of all over him, when I heard a thus as someone toppled off the bed.  
  
And it wasn't Doc.  
  
'Suze, shut the door!' shouted Doc in fury, turning red with embarrassment.  
  
'I can't,' I stated, 'I broke it. Now, I'm going to hold it closed to give your friend time to slip into something more, ah, well, slip into something. And David, you two have a lot of explaining to do.'  
  
I pulled the door shut.  
  
Oh my God.  
  
OH MY GOD.  
  
I had just walked in on my TWELVE-YEAR-OLD NERD TO THE CORE BROTHER and his GIRLFRIEND doing . . . you know!!!  
  
EEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
I was taking it kind of hard, you know. It was way worse than I expected. I mean, he'd got past third base before me! I mean, that's just wrong!  
  
'I'm coming back,' I said, and let the door fall open again. There, on Doc's hurriedly made bed, sat the nerd himself, beet red and fully dressed, and a pretty brunette girl who was adjusting her glasses.  
  
Nerds in love.  
  
'David!' I said, my voice squeaking. 'Please tell me that, five minutes ago, I was seeing things.'  
  
'Uh, you were seeing things?' he said obligingly. I rolled my eyes.  
  
'I take it you are Shannon,' I asked the brunette. She nodded, mortified, plaiting her hair back into a pair of braids. I was really appalled.  
  
'David, how old are you exactly?' I asked him accusingly.  
  
'You mean, physically, mentally, or emotionally?' he questioned.  
  
'YOU'RE A BLOODY TWELVE YEAR OLD!' I roared back at him, and Shannon flinched, dropping her second plait, having to start it again.  
  
'How long has this, ah, been going on?' I asked him.  
  
He looked at the floor.  
  
'Don't tell dad,' he said in a very small voice.  
  
'I won't,' I said, and he relaxed greatly. 'Shannon, can you go?' She walked towards the door. 'No, love, through the window,' I said. Her eyes widened.  
  
'Uh, Doc's sister, I'm not very good at anything physical,' she said referring to climbing down the wall.  
  
'You didn't seem to have a big problem five minutes ago,' I drawled.  
  
She began to shake, knowing that she was mega busted. I felt sorry for her. I mean, these two were young, and they knew they were screwed. I decided to go easy on her. Doc was a different story.  
  
'Hey, Shannon, it's okay, I won't tell anyone,' I soothed, as she began to hiccup in her crying. I laid a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at me with glass-framed, magnified hazel eyes.  
  
'Thank you,' she whispered, hiccuping again, and climbed out the window carefully. Doc and I both waved as she ran. But she didn't' wave back.  
  
I advanced on Doc. 'Please, tell me you didn't go too far with her,' I said dangerously. 'On second thought, I don't really want to know.' I heaved a great sigh. Why were all these problems being thrown at me? I mean, as if mediation wasn't enough, (yes, I will keep referring to my job as mediation, regardless of bad ass Paul Slater's insisting that I'm a shifter,) I had all this other shit going on!  
  
Why me?  
  
Doc just stared at the floor nervously, his sticky-out ears redder than my Scarlet Dream nail polish.  
  
'David, uh, I didn't know you had a girlfriend,' I said. I'm so lame.  
  
'Suze I'm sorry! You can't tell Dad, though, he'll kill me! It's just that I really like Shannon, and just because everyone thinks I'm a nerd, that doesn't disable me to do anything differently to what other males my age do.'  
  
I blinked.  
  
'Uh, Doc, it's all right, I'm just a little freaked out, you know,' I said. But I wasn't. I was WAAAAY freaked out.  
  
He finally lifted his gaze, hope dawning on him. 'You're not going to tell?'  
  
'No way,' I replied.  
  
His nerdy eyes filled with tears of gratification, and he launched himself at me, hugging me tightly.  
  
'You're the best step-sister ever,' he said, his voice kind of muffled. If I was freaked out before, that was nothing compared to now.  
  
'Doc, take a freaking shower!' I snapped. He let go, grinning with discomfiture, and nodded.  
  
Geez, this has to have been the WEIRDEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!!!!! 


	14. Invisible Girl

'What a long day,' I groaned, lying my bed, staring into space. You know how you can't seem to focus your eyes on anything, but you just seem to be staring beyond, thinking . . .  
  
I was thinking, all right. Thinking about just how far I was going to kick Paul's ass after when he tried to do. Again! He had some nerve, I swear. And I was going to make him sorry, too.  
  
'Meow,' went Spike, leaping with clumsiness onto my stomach, extracting me from my reflection.  
  
'Susannah!'  
  
A Spanish voice startled me. I sat up slightly, and saw that the one and only, hotter than hot Jesse had just materialized in front of the door.  
  
'Hello, Jesse,' I sighed.  
  
'Don't you give me that,' he said, 'Why did you never tell me about these Shifter lessons?! How could you put yourself at such a danger? After everything that Paul's done to you!'  
  
'You have no idea,' I said absent-mindedly, scratching behind Spike's ears. He was being strangely nice to let me do so.  
  
'What did you say?' asked Jesse dangerously, coming to stand above me.  
  
'Hello up there,' I said.  
  
'Susannah, I'm warning you, don't continue with these stupid lessons, or you will regret it.'  
  
'Jesus, Jesse, mind your own business,' I snapped, rolling over.  
  
'Look at me when I'm talking to you!' he roared, pulling me back to face him.  
  
'I don't have to do everything you say!' I yelled in reply, furious. I jerked away from him, staring at him strangely. Jesse didn't usually lose his temper with ME.  
  
He stared at me for a moment, before sitting on the end of my bed, his head in his hands. He sighed, and wiped his hair back. It fell messily across his forehead again anyway.  
  
'Querida,' he said defeatedly- I went all squishy- 'I'm only saying this because I'm scared of what he could do to you.'  
  
Should I tell him about what Paul tried to do today? That would be exciting . . . but no, then Jesse would most likely end up exorcised.  
  
Why do I always lose?  
  
'Susannah,' he said, 'He could hurt you. No, he could damn well kill you, and I don't want that to happen.'  
  
'You and me both,' I agreed.  
  
'So? What are you going to do? Why are you even going to these lessons?'  
  
'Because-' I shut my mouth quickly. What could I say to Jesse? He'd do his nut if he knew why I'd agreed to Paul's deal, because I was trying to protect him.  
  
'-Because I want to learn about this stuff,' I said in a stammer, looking away from those dark Latino eyes of his that were blazing at me. Which was true, I did. Want to learn, I mean. But why did it have to be with PAUL?!  
  
'There must be another way to-'  
  
'No, Jesse, there's not. There's really not.'  
  
He stood up, and began pacing in front of the bed. Wanting to get something of a confession out of him, I went, 'Why do you care?'  
  
Again, he looked at me. His gaze was heavy.  
  
'Because you're my friend,' he answered finally, looking away.  
  
'Oh,' I said with disappointment. Was that all?  
  
'But, Jesse,' I said, standing up from my bed.  
  
'Yes, Querida?'  
  
'Is that all I've ever been?'  
  
WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!?!  
  
He looked at me in alarm, unable to speak. What had I done?!  
  
'Uh, I have to g-'  
  
'No, Jesse!' I said quickly, grabbing his arm as he was about to dematerialize, 'No! You've kissed me twice now! Are you just messing with me? Were you bored? Do you really hate me?'  
  
He was startled. 'Querida! Of course I don't hate you,' he soothed. 'I love you like a sister!'  
  
My world shattered.  
  
'Like a sister?' I squealed, 'a SISTER?!'  
  
He pulled back from my tugging arms. 'I'll, uh, see you later, Susannah,' he said, and promptly dematerialized.  
  
'JESSE!' I roared, but it was no use. He was probably at Father Dom's by now.  
  
He kisses his SISTERS like THAT?!?!?!?!  
  
~*~  
  
Knock, knock.  
  
'Come in,' I said dully.  
  
'Hey, Suze,' greeted a very rosy-cheeked CeeCee. She beamed at me.  
  
'Hey, Cee.'  
  
'Oh, I've brought Adam too, he'll be up in a second-'  
  
'Uh huh.'  
  
'Why are you so down?' she wanted to know, squinting at me curiously, coming in to sit on my window seat. I shrugged. I was still lying on my bed.  
  
'Cee, you know about . . . Jesse?' I asked in hushed tones.  
  
Her eyes widened, and she looked around furtively. 'Yeah?'  
  
'He doesn't love me,' I confided sadly. 'Well, he does, but like a sister.' I spat the word out like it was a contaminated.  
  
She gave me a scandalized look, her lips all tight. 'Really?'  
  
'Yes, really,' I answered. I sighed. 'I don't know where the idea came from that something was ever going to happen between us. I mean, seriously, he is a ghost.'  
  
She looked at me sympathetically. 'I'm sorry Suze,' she said. 'Hey, why don't you go out with Paul?'  
  
I turned to her sharply.  
  
'Have you gone freaking CRAZY?!' I hissed in fury. 'And besides, I'm going out with Tad again.'  
  
She looked alarmed at my outburst, but then squealed in glee. 'Really? Well, that's great!'  
  
'No it's not,' I said, pouting.  
  
'Okay. Oh, by the way, Suze, you left this at school in the library that day,' CeeCee said, pulling out a little slit of grey cardboard. Huh?  
  
'What's that?'  
  
'That photo of that guy that you didn't know who it was of? Remember?'  
  
'Oh yeah. Well, do you know who he is?' I asked hopefully, taking it from her extended white hand.  
  
Angrily, she said, 'Yes, but no. I recognize him, but I can't think of his name.'  
  
'Join the club,' said a voice.  
  
I turned, and Adam came striding in. 'Hey Suze,' he greeted with a smile. I sighed and said a lacklustre hello.  
  
'Why so down?' he wanted to know. Oh, Jesus. I can't tell Adam about it.  
  
'Girl stuff,' said CeeCee, looking at me quickly. I wrinkled my nose. I mean, yeah, I needed an excuse, but not THAT excuse.  
  
She grinned at me.  
  
'Uh, Cee, if you don't know who the guy is,' I said, referring to the photo, 'is there any possible way that you can somehow research who the girl next to him is?'  
  
CeeCee stared at me strangely.  
  
'What girl?' she asked.  
  
I blanched. 'T-The girl next to him.'  
  
She frowned, looked at the photograph of the smiling hot guy and Bessie, and then at me again.  
  
'Suze,' she said, 'There's no girl there . . .'  
  
****************************************************************  
  
A/N: Thanks for reviewing, guys! You ROCK! Uh, preview of what's coming next, okay, uh . . . oh, crap, I've forgotten! Thinking of "Get Out Jesse" too much, I guess, (another fanfic I am writing) um, oh yeah. Well, Suze finds Ramsis, that Egyptian dude. Ironic, how she can find him out of all the animals in the world. Also, don't kill me, as Bessie's character is one done by so many, but her story comes up soon, too. Otherwise, that's about it. KEEP THE REVIEWS COMING! ( 


	15. Felinus, Secretus, Possidere

'What?!' I gasped.  
  
CeeCee and Adam had those weird looks on their faces again, the way they looked whenever something to do with mediation was happening, and I wasn't acting normally. And I sure as hell wasn't now, according to them.  
  
CeeCee repeated herself. 'There's only the guy,' she said slowly. 'No girl.' That was when she made the connection. 'Suze! Is this another one of those-'  
  
I coughed, glaring at her. She looked around, remembered that Adam was there, and shut her mouth.  
  
'What?' asked Adam, sounding hurt, 'What did I do?'  
  
'Nothing,' I said, frowning. It was finally making a bit of sense. Bessie had been dead when that photo was taken. She had been a ghost, and was sitting there in the photo. And I could see her because I was a mediator, and seeing as she had been present at that time when the photo was taken, I could still see her even if she was invisible to everyone else. Pretty cool. I never knew about this. Then again, it had probably happened heaps of times, and I'd just taken the ghosts to be alive.  
  
'Uh, guys, can you go? I need to do something important,' I said hastily.  
  
'But we just got-'  
  
'Come on, Adam,' snapped CeeCee, dragging him from me, 'You heard the woman.'  
  
'But-'  
  
'Adam,' warned CeeCee in a tone that made Adam grin and shrug and go, 'Okay, okay.'  
  
'Oh, and Suze, I got this for you, too.' She plopped a stack of papers on my desk. From what I saw, it was in minuscule writing, and was about Egypt. I gulped.  
  
She lead Adam out. I wondered why they had come here in the first place. I mean, to drop off papers? Yeah, right . . .  
  
I sighed and lay back on my bed, staring at the photograph. It's weird, how you can get so bored from some photographs, but from others, they keep you fascinated, as you look at them from every aspect possible. This photo kept snagging at my memory, as my eyes focused on that boy, smiling, frozen in time. His hair was light, his eyes pale, his face terribly familiar . . .  
  
He must have been a mediator. It looked as though he was aware of Bessie's presence.  
  
Very aware.  
  
And what male mediator wouldn't be? She was a hot chic, it had to be admitted.  
  
Purr.  
  
Spike leapt up onto my tummy. He was being really weird tonight, being nice and all. I frowned, and scratched him behind the ears.  
  
He purred in annoyance, and seemed to be indicating that he was itchy under his collar. I rolled my eyes and scratched the supposed spot-  
  
-Huh? I felt around beneath his collar. It seemed to have these raised bumps on it. I took off the collar quickly, and turned it inside out.  
  
And beneath the loose cat fur, I saw it . . .  
  
Hieroglyphics.  
  
So what if I didn't make the connection then?  
  
Instantly, though, I seized the wad of Egypt related papers that CeeCee had delivered, and skimmed about thirteen pages in until I came across three pages of Egyptian hieroglyphic translations. Then I referred back to the collar. Spike, I failed to notice then, was watching me rather intently.  
  
After about half an hour of decoding, scanning the paper multiple times to check I'd matched up the symbols correctly, endless scribbling and scrubbing out, I finally gasped in triumph, holding a pretty sad translation in front of me. I read it out for the first time, not thinking about what I was saying, really.  
  
' "Incarcerated by Bastet, cursed by my kind Free me, shifter, aid me to find The ones who made me this way." '  
  
I stared in disgust. That was seriously bad poetry, you know. No creativity, no point. I mean-  
  
'Ah, crap!' I swore, as Spike's collar burst into flames, singing my hands, so that they instantly turned a nasty red colour. I sucked in harsh breath, and rushed rapidly to my bathroom, shoving my burnt fingers under a blast of icy water. Oh, that hurt.  
  
Then, I looked at my fingers, and saw that they were perfectly all right. Huh? Just a second, they had been red and blistered.  
  
'But they aren't now.'  
  
What? Who was that? I whipped around suspiciously, my eyes darting around all over the place. But there was no one there.  
  
'Obviously not,' answered that same voice. It sounded oddly familiar . . .  
  
Shrugging, I - what? So I shrugged it off? I couldn't see any ghosts that needed mediation, so I didn't care, did I? - went to the door of the bathroom, still staring curiously at my hands. They felt fine. I mean, for a moment, I thought that I'd had another outbreak of poison oak, but no, they had been burnt, hadn't they? I walked into my room, and collapsed on my bed.  
  
'I really need a holiday,' I groaned, pushing my hand over my eyes really hard.  
  
Geez, something stank. I bet that Dopey had been using my loo again! I'm going to kill him! No . . . I'd been in there just a second ago, and there was no overwhelming pong, was there?  
  
No, there wasn't.  
  
That was when something brushed against my foot.  
  
'Hey, Jesse, is that you?' I asked, not bothering to open my eyes. If I sprayed him with some deodorant, would he get pissed at me because he smelt like lavender? But . . . since when did ghosts have BO this bad?  
  
'Jesus, Jesse, have you been hanging around a rubbish dump all day, or-'  
  
But, as I'm sure you can imagine, I was cut short by the fact that I wasn't talking to Jesse. In fact, I wasn't even talking to a ghost . . .  
  
Oh, no. Just this rotting, decaying mummified corpse, that's all.  
  
My heart clenching in utmost shock. I screamed. So sue me? I mean, it's not every day you see a MUMMY for crying out loud. I was just waiting for Brendan Frazer to come running in with a machine gun about now, but he was a no show. This was WAY too "The Mummy." Yeah, I freaked out. I grabbed the first thing I could grab, that being my bedside lamp. I hurled it at this disgusting, putrid bag of bandages, and it hit him right in the ribcage, shattering already eroded bones. The mummy glared at me. Well, I think he did, anyway, if the way he stopped and jerked his head at my intensely was any indication.  
  
'Stop,' said that voice in my head again.  
  
I froze. I mean, I could only assume that it was coming from this decomposing dude.  
  
I carefully put down what I had been about to fling at him; a book that Jesse had been reading called "Astronomy for the Apt," and looked at him with a freaked out expression.  
  
'What the hell is wrong with you?' I hissed at it. Jesus, it stank.  
  
'I had no choice but to come in this form,' it said in my head. 'This is how I was when I was mummified.'  
  
'Charming,' I said, wrinkling my nose against its stench. 'But, who are you?'  
  
Ha, you'd think that I would know by now, hey?  
  
'I'm Ramsis,' he said, taking a step closer to me.  
  
'Whoa, back of buddy,' I sad, holding up my hands angrily. 'You seriously need a shower. Unless the water will kind of, kill you, that is.'  
  
'I can't die,' he said.  
  
'Uh huh? Sure, dude. We all like to think we are invincible sometimes-'  
  
'No, I cannot die!' His voice was getting a little angry now. It's no picnic, being in the smelly presence of a mummy, let me tell you.  
  
'Right. Hey, hang on. That would mean you're not a ghost!' I said in shock. So, that would also mean, that if anyone walked in right now, they would see a MUMMY!  
  
That would be interesting.  
  
'Well, how are you here, then?' I asked in freaked out wonder.  
  
'Well,' he explained in my head, taking another step forward, 'Just because I my body was mummified, it didn't die. I didn't feel any pain, as I was actually transported to the body of that wretched cat. This thing you refer to as, Spike, he was transported into my body. I was mummified because of a crime I committed.'  
  
'And what was-' I stopped dead. I suddenly realized what he was talking about! He was Ramsis, the shifter that tortured the Egyptian four, and didn't mediate them! And another thing, he spoke of being transported to another body. Wasn't that what Paul had been saying in his lesson today? I mean, yeah, before he went all psycho, that is. Physical Substitution, and neither can die? Yeah! Oh, I'm so smart, eh?  
  
But still . . . He was Ramsis! An evil ancestor of Paul Slater!  
  
I backed away.  
  
'Why'd you come to me?' I asked in disgust, 'Why not your little great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great nephew, fifty thousand times removed?' A.k.a. Paul Slater.  
  
He stared at me. Well, again, I think he did, crossing his shattered bones in front of a stinking, bandage clad chest. 'Well, you are the one who freed me.'  
  
Hey! Rewind and - and FREEZE! (A/N: I know, totally Princess Diaries ^_^) I freed him?! You mean, it was MY fault that he was here?  
  
Okay, I was getting past freaked out now. I was scared.  
  
'Well, what do you want?' I asked, with a definite quaver in my voice that I struggled not to show.  
  
'I obviously cannot walk around in this state,' he said, via thought speech. I guess he can do the Telepathy thing that Paul was going on about, seeing as he was also a shifter. He took another step closer to me. 'So I guess you'll have to do.'  
  
'Like shit!' I said rebelliously, and aimed a kick at his ribcage, that was already a bit broken from the lamp, but yeah. Anyhow, he moved quick for a bandaged guy. He seized my arm - yes, can you believe it? He TOUCHED ME! Ewww! - and that was when I felt myself go cold all over . . .  
  
I had been possessed.  
  
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A/N: I know, that was a really gay chapter, but you'll live until I can get another better one. Hang in there, and KEEP THE REVIEWS COMING!!! Also, for the reference, Latin translations:  
  
Felinus: Cat Secretus: Secret Possidere; Possess 


	16. Cooperating With Evil

Guys? I'm a little disappointed in this chapter, okay? Don't flame me, I know it's short and I know it sucks. I'll come up with a BETTER one really quick, I'm sorry for not replying, I've been busy with "Get out, Jesse, and never come back." I think it's great doing two stories at once, because when I get bored with one, I can go to the other, and when I get back to the boring one, I'm fresh with new ideas! But . . . I think this chapter was a dead end. Am I wrong? Tell me in a review what you think!  
  
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It was the most horrible feeling that I've ever experienced. It was like a ridiculous amount of liquid had been injected into me through a needle, and was swimming around my body, sending all my muscles into horrible aches, and making my blood chill. But the worst thing was knowing that I had no control over myself, and knowing that I was just a spectator to myself. This dude could kill me, and I couldn't do a damn thing to stop it.  
  
'Susannah?'  
  
I wanted to turn around, and glare at Jesse. I mean, I was pretty worked up, but he'd snubbed me before, and NOBODY SNUBS SUZE SIMON!  
  
Well, obviously Jesse does, as he proved he could do. Yeah, but of course, Ramsis wasn't at all interested in Jesse. No, he was ferreting around my room, which I found highly rude.  
  
'Uh, Susannah, are you . . . are you okay?' Jesse wanted to know in a concerned voice.  
  
"Why aren't you talking?" I asked Ramsis in my head.  
  
"Well, I won't sound like you, will I?" he said angrily. Okay, right . . .  
  
'Susannah? Susannah? Querida, are you-'  
  
That was when Ramsis got pissed off. 'God, shut up!' he said, and turned around. Of course, it wasn't me talking.  
  
I saw Jesse's face. There was a strange expression on them, as if he merely thought I had a sore throat and was looking for some cough lollies.  
  
'Susannah . . . Your voice-'  
  
'This isn't your Susannah, my friend. You're Susannah's going to be quiet for a while. And NO YOU DON'T!' Ramsis yelled, as Jesse tried to dematerialize, but my possessor lifted MY hand and shot a jet of red light at MY Jesse! In my head, I screamed, as Jesse went still.  
  
Very still.  
  
"What did you do to him?!" I screamed in my head, "What did you do?!"  
  
He made me shrug. 'I stopped him. That is all. He isn't the one that I'm worried about, Susannah, is it? What a pretty name. Well, I was wondering if you knew a boy by the name of Paul-'  
  
"Slater?" I asked.  
  
'No, Slaski,' he said.  
  
"Yeah, same difference. He changed his name. Why do you want to know?"  
  
'Well, I need him to help me track down the four that are keeping me here. I trust you are familiar with exorcisms?'  
  
"Duh, Freddie."  
  
'No, you forget, I am Ramsis-'  
  
"Yeah, I gotcha. Figure of speech. But I'm not taking you to Paul unless you free my Jesse."  
  
'Who's your Jesse?' he asked, making me frown.  
  
"The one you just froze, you numb nut!" I screeched in my head. He chuckled, a chuckle that I realized was coming from me.  
  
'You don't have a choice,' he said, 'Not if you want your body to stay in one piece.'  
  
"Oh, yeah?" I snapped in my mind. Then, something occurred to me. "How can you understand English?"  
  
He was still looking around my room. 'I can do anything that you can do, except use your voice. I cannot explore your mind either, only hear what you're thinking.'  
  
MAN, this was confusing!  
  
"Jeez, man, what are you looking for?" I was getting, not only annoyed, but scared. Jesse was looking at me with frozen alarm, the shimmering light of his dematerialization also motionless. His eyes seemed to be calling me.  
  
'I am looking for that letter you and your Jesse friend wrote to those four, that you didn't deliver,' he said quietly.  
  
"Oh, that's in the d- Wait, why do you want that?" I asked, bewildered.  
  
'Well, that's obviously what you call convincing, and I need to get them here somehow,' he answered simply. 'Now, where is it?'  
  
Okay, this wasn't right. I'm possessed by an evil dude who has just frozen Jesse, he wants to find a letter to lure some ghosts here, is asking for Paul so he can exorcise said ghosts, and I still can't do a damned thing to stop him!  
  
"And what makes you think that I'm going to help you with all of this?" I asked coldly in my head.  
  
'Well, let's just say that your frozen friend will find me less than friendly if you don't cooperate with me,' he retorted.  
  
Ouch. What a bad ass . . .  
  
'And if that isn't enough,' he continued wickedly, 'You may find yourself in a less than healthy situation.'  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.  
  
He chuckled, but again, used my hands to continue hunting around my room. 'So, are you going to tell me where this letter thing is?'  
  
"Only if you let Jesse g-"  
  
'No!' he shouted, and my head began to spin wildly. I mean, where's a Panadol when you need one, eh? Everything began to swim.  
  
'No you don't,' said Ramsis suddenly, 'I need you conscious . . .'  
  
"Free Jesse, or I'm going to sleep," I said dizzily.  
  
That was when he got nasty. There was a moment of complete stillness, then a pain so terrifyingly intense swept through me. In my mind I was shrieking, and it seemed criminal that I couldn't share this pain with the world. No body could hear my cries of agony but stupid fuzz-butt Ramsis.  
  
When it all stopped, I was panting in my mind.  
  
"You . . . bastard . . ."  
  
He chuckled again, and went to sit on my bed. 'Okay, so are we going to be cooperative now, Susannah?'  
  
What could I do? I mean, this guy was MEAN.  
  
Defeatedly, I said, "Yes . . ."  
  
It was awful, the feeling that was inside of me. Like I'd just let something precious slip through my fingers. I felt so low.  
  
I could feel my lips smiling. But I wasn't making them do it.  
  
'Now, that's a good girl,' he said with amusement.  
  
"Shut up," I said, "trying to drown in misery here, don't disturb me."  
  
'No, no,' he said, 'you're going to help me. Tell me where Paul Slaski-'  
  
"Slater."  
  
'-Slater is.'  
  
I told him, and with a shimmer, I was back in that room of imprisoning blueness. What a bastard this guy was. I mean, I couldn't materialize for the life of me, and here he is, doing it in my body! It's an outrage! I'll sue!  
  
And then Paul, who was sitting on the bed, looked up and into my eyes. With a wide grin, he said, 'Well, well, well, come back for more, did you?'  
  
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	17. No, not Jesse

I'm sorry that this has been so long coming, I've just been busying myself with "Get Out Jesse and Never Come Back,' and I've ignored this a little, because I was worried that it was a dud. But I've re read it, and I've been inspired to continue, because I'm still getting the odd reviews, asking me to update. Once again, I'm sorry. I'll know better next time not to do to many stories at once, whether they are my own, or are fan fictions. Okay . . . Thanks to the people who have reviewed, asking me to get my butt into gear, and telling me that my story's good. Here we go . . . Oh, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!  
  
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'Quiet, you fool!' snapped Ramsis.  
  
Paul's smile vanished. I'm glad to say that this croaky voice wasn't turning him on in the slightest.  
  
'Suze? What the hell is up with your voice? You want a throat lolly or something, because that's one hell of a rasp-'  
  
'Silence! Of course I'm not Susannah! Your Susannah has been possessed,' Ramsis snarled. From what I could gather, he wasn't to fond of Paul.  
  
Paul looked momentarily pleased because Ramsis had said "Your Susannah," but then looked startled. 'Suze is . . . possessed?'  
  
I felt my eyes roll. 'Aren't we slow on the uptake?' Ramsis drawled.  
  
Paul stood up rapidly. 'Who the hell are you then?' he demanded fiercely, glaring at me. I felt so hollow and scared . . . What was going to happen? Why was Mr Mummy getting Paul involved?  
  
'I,' I felt myself straightening up importantly, 'I am Ramsis, the most powerful shifter of all time, and you are my descendant.'  
  
Paul looked at me cynically.  
  
Then he snorted.  
  
I felt Ramsis' outrage brewing within me. 'Do not mock me, young Slaski!'  
  
Paul raised an eyebrow. 'I'm Paul Slater, remember? Suze, stop joking around, this is getting really boring, really fast.'  
  
My eyes were glaring at Paul. 'You are not convinced. There is no time for that now, I need your help. There are four ghosts that are keeping me on this earth, and have been for a long time. I'm sure that you are familiar with your Susannah's cat, Spike? Well, I have been trapped in his feline form since approximately 1600 BC. It has been a tortured life, and I am in no mood to be delayed by some punk shifter.'  
  
Paul's smile again, vanished. 'Whoa. Okay, slow down, dude. You are a guy, right? Ramsis? Yeah, anyway, how'' you get free?' Now I even felt like rolling my eyes. Paul was wasting time. Well, at least he wasn't going to try and get all hot and heavy with me this time. That was about the only good thing. I still felt panicky, but it wasn't so bad now. I was in no immediate danger, and I just had to be careful, or this Egyptian ass would hurt my Jesse. There was a lot at stake . . .  
  
'Susannah freed me, unintentionally. She is regretting her mistake sorely, now, because I have frozen her friend . . . I forget his name-'  
  
'Hector? Rico Suave? Cowboy? Jesse?' Paul offered, grinning horribly.  
  
'Jesse, that's the one,' Ramsis nodded curtly. Paul is suck a dick, I swear . . . 'Oh, Susannah is calling you a "dick," by the way, if that helps.'  
  
Paul laughed with glee.  
  
'So,' he continued, 'You want me to help you exorcise some ghosts? My pleasure. Who are they? Are . . .' He stopped dead. 'Oh, do they have anything to do with that Sighting that Suze had at school earlier?  
  
'Yes,' Ramsis revealed. 'About the scribes?'  
  
'Yeah,' Paul nodded, looking very sinister, all of a sudden. 'Why do you need Suze for this?' he asked with a frown.  
  
Ramsis made my eyebrows raise. 'Well it would look rather strange Is a decomposing mummy is walking around. Your Susannah got quite a shock on our first encounter.'  
  
Paul smiled. 'Fair point. But why can't you use someone else? Jesse, for instance? He is a very, very powerful ghost . . .'  
  
Oh, no you don't . . . Don't you dare, Paul . . .  
  
Ramsis thought about that . . . 'That may actually be a better idea, just as long as you are sure you can do all of the work on your own. If you have my blood, I'm sure you can,' he smiled.  
  
Paul looked pretty smug at that. 'And then, as a favour to me, could we exorcise the cowboy as well?'  
  
No! No, not Jesse! I don't care if he loves me just as a sister, he's not getting his hands on Jesse!  
  
'That seems fair,' Ramsis said.  
  
NOOOOOOOOOOO! NOT JESSE! I HATE YOU, PAUL, YOU ARE A F-  
  
'Susannah isn't too happy about this,' he smirked. 'She's screaming.'  
  
Paul's smug grin widened. 'I bet she is.' Then, in a totally Doctor Evil way, they burst into laughter. This wasn't happening . . . They were going to exorcise Jesse! NO!  
  
After they'd quite finished, Ramsis materialized back to my room.  
  
~*~  
  
Okay, now I was scared. Jesse was going to be exorcised! No! I wouldn't let them! I -  
  
'You can't do a blasted thing, Susannah,' Ramsis said in my head, and went to stand directly in front of the frozen form Jesse, whose eyes were wide in shock. Then, he placed a hand on Jesse's arm, and instantly, I felt all the pressure that was swimming around my body vanish completely. I collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily. When I looked up, I saw that now it was Jesse who was possessed by Ramsis. He grabbed me by the hair, and hauled me up. I was like, 'Ow! Ow, ow, no touching the hair! Ow!' but did he listen? Nooo, he's too badass to care that pulling a girl's hair is NOT very nice. I mean, how rude is he?  
  
'Silence, Susannah,' Ramsis barked in that Spanish voice of scorching hotness. I looked pitifully into Jesse's eyes, and saw that they were now Ramsis' eyes. Of the deepest brown . . .  
  
This was NOT good.  
  
'Say goodbye to your friend, Susannah. I imagine that this is the last time you will see him,' Ramsis sneered, shoving me to the ground. I scrambled up straight away, but not fast enough . . .  
  
He'd dematerialized . . .  
  
~*~  
  
Shit!  
  
I threw myself back on my bed, cursing my luck. This was horrible! This was even worse than when I thought that Jesse had moved on after we dug up his body. I felt so hopeless, I mean, seriously, what could I do? Nothing! I couldn't stop "the most powerful shifter of all time, could I now? Not bloody likely . . .  
  
I stared into space. Why were my eyes so wet, geez . . . Oh, fabulous, I was CRYING now! This was officially screwed up, okay, not good. I'm done for . . .  
  
Wait.  
  
Jesse wouldn't give up if I was in trouble. He'd do anything to ensure my safety, and by God, I wasn't going to let the bloke down. I was going to get him back, because no one hurts the guy . . .  
  
. . . Who loves me like a sister.  
  
Oh yeah, that. Grrrrr . . .  
  
But still! I owed it to him to save him from Ramsis' possession. He'd do it for me.  
  
So, fired with a new determination, I bolted out of my room, and jumped down the stairs, ready to burst out the front door when . . .  
  
The phone rang.  
  
That kind of pissed me off . . .  
  
I ran back inside, seized the receiver, and yelled, 'What? Can't it wait?!'  
  
There was a shocked silence on the other end, then -  
  
'Suze, um, it's just me, CeeCee . . .'  
  
I instantly felt bad.  
  
'Look, Cee, I'm . . . I'm really sorry, it's just that, well, . . . you're better off not knowing, actually.'  
  
That was when CeeCee got annoyed. 'Suze? What's up? You'd better tell me.'  
  
I gripped the phone handle very hard then. Should I tell her?  
  
Whatever I decided, it just came gushing out.  
  
'It's just that Jesse's going to be exorcised! Paul and this evil Egyptian dude, who happens to be his great, great, great, great, great, whatever grand dad, are out to exorcise Jesse, and they are going to exorcise these four ghosts that I've been trying to mediate for ages now, and I'm really worried, because I don't know what to do, or where to go!' I gasped, and hiccuped, trying not to cry so hard.  
  
Silence.  
  
'Suze, er, do you wanna say that a little slower, babe?'  
  
Now I was pretty miffed. I repeated most of it, not crying so hard now.  
  
Again, CeeCee was quiet. Then after a while, she spoke up. 'Look Suze, I know that you're not going to let me, but I don't care what you say. I'm going to help you. It doesn't matter if I can't see ghosts like you can, I'm sticking with you on this one. Otherwise, I know it, you're going to get yourself killed. Stay where you are, I'll be right over with Adam-'  
  
'Cee! Not Adam, don't bring him! He can't know about this, CeeCee! You-'  
  
'Cool it, Simon! He's not coming, he's just a taxi driver. I'm at his place now, so yeah, okay?' I jammed my eyes shut. What was I doing? If I let CeeCee come, I would be putting her in danger too.  
  
I guess I'm just a selfish bitch.  
  
'Hurry, CeeCee!' I whimpered into the phone quietly.  
  
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A/N: This is going to pick up really soon, okay? I'm going to do longer chapters, and I'm going to update straight away. Thanks for reviewing! 


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